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I EXTRACTED FKOM SECTIOK ONE OF THE FISHERIES A>iD FISHERY rN'DUSTRIES 

OF THE I'MTEI) STATES. I'agfs 7ti3-s;iO; Plates 26U-275 and 
plate CXXl of the TJ. S. F. C. Bulletin for 1889.] 




^J/ 



NATURAL HISTORY OF ECONOMIC CRUSTACEANS 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES 



BY 



RICHAl-iD l^AXHBUN. 



a** 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1893. 



^^ 



:p'k' 



By trauBfer 
AUG 11 1906 






NATURAL HISTOllY OF ECONOMIC CRUSTACEANS. 



JJt Eichard Eathbun. 



221. THE CRABS. 

The Fiddler Crabs — Gelasimus pugnax, Smith; GELAsiMUt; pugilator, Latreille; Gel,asi- 

Mus MiNAX, Le Oonte. 

Three species of Fiddler Grabs occur upon the Atlantic coast of the United States, and are 
frequently utilized as bait. Congregating together in immense numbers, as they often do, and 
excavating their holes generally in convenient localities, above the reach of the tides, they might 
be easily collected in large quantities, were they better appreciated by the fishermen. Most 
dwellers upon the sea-shore are acquainted with that peculiarity of the Fiddler Crabs which has 
given to them their common name, and by which they are readily distinguished from our other 
Crabs. The males are provided with two very unequal claws, one being of large, the other of 
quite small size, in comparison with the size of the animal. Of these, the larger claw has been 
likened to a fiddle and the smaller one to a bow; hence the derivation of the name. The claws of 
the females are, however, of equal and small size. 

The three species mentioned as living upon the Atlantic coast are Gelasimus minax, G. 
ptigna.v, and G.pvgilator. The former species, which is the largest, ranges from the southern coast 
of New England to Florida, and lives ui)on salt marshes, usually farther from the sea than the 
others, and frequently where the water is nearly fresh. G. pugnax ranges from Cape Cod to 
Florida, and also occurs in the Gulf of Mexico and amoug the West Indies. "It makes its 
burrows only ujion salt marshes, but is often seen in great companies wandering out upon muddy 
or sandy flats, or even upon the beaches of the bays and sounds." G. pugilator ranges from Cape 
Cod to Florida, upon muddy and sandy flats and beaches. Professor Venill describes the habits 
and characteristics of these species as follows : ' 

" We find several species of Crabs burrowing in muddy banks along the shores of the 
estuaries, as well as along banks of the streams and ditches of the salt marshes. The most 
abundant of these is the marsh Fiddler Crab, Gelasimus pugnax, which is often so abundant that 
the banks are completely honeycombed and undermined by them. These holes are of various 
sizes up to about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and descend more or less perpendicularly, 
often to the ilepth of two feet or more. Occasionally in summer these Crabs will leave their holes 
and scatter over the surface of the marshes, which at times seem to be perfectly alive with them, 
but when disturbed they will scamper away in every direction and speedily retreat to their holes; 
but occasionally, at least, they do not find their own, for sometimes the rightful owner will be seen 
forcibly ejecting several intruders. It is probable that at such times of general retreat each one 
gets into the first hole that he can find. Ass6ciaJ:ed with this ' Fiddler,' another related Crab, the 
Sesarma reticulata, is occasionally found in cotfstderable numbers. This is a stout-looking, reddish- 
brown crab, with a squarish carapax ; its large claws are stout and nearly equal in both sexes, 
instead of being very unequal, as in the male ' Fiddlers.' It lives in holes like the ' Fiddlers,' 

'Report upon the Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard Sound, etc., in Report United States Fish Commissioner for 
1871-'72, pp. 336, 466. 

763 



764 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

but its holes are usually much larger, often an inch or an inch and a half in diameter. It is much 
less active than the ' Fiddlers,' but can pinch very powerfully with its large claws, which are 
always promptly used when an opportunity occurs. 

" On the marshes farther up the estuaries, and along the mouths of rivers and brooks, and 
extending up even to places wliere the water is quite fresh, another and much larger species of 
'Fiddler Crab' occurs, often in abundance; this is the Oelasimus mina^. It can be easily 
distinguished by its much larger size and by having a patch of red at the joints of the legs. Its 
habits have been carefully studied by Mr. T. M. Pruddeu, of New Uaveu, who has also investigated 
its anatomy. According to Mr. Prudden, this species, like Oelasimus pugilator, is a vegetarian. 
He often saw it engaged in scraping up and eating a minute green algoid plant which covers the 
surface of the mud. The male uses its small claw exclusively in obtaining its food and conveying 
it to the moiith. The female uses either of her small ones indifferently. In enlarging its burrows, 
Mr. Pruddeu observed that these Crabs scraped off" the mud from the inside of the burrow by 
means of the claws of the ambulatory legs, and, having formed the mud into a pellet, pushed it up 
out of the hole by means of the elbow-like joint at the base of the great claw, when this is folded 
down. He also ascertained that this Crab often constructs a regular oven-like arch of mud over 
the mouth of its burrow. This archway is horizontal, and large and long enough to contain the 
Crab, who quietly sits in this curious doorway on the lookout for his enemies of all kinds. 

"This species can live out of water and without food for many days. It can also live in 
perfectly fresh water. One large male was kept in my laboratory in a glass jar, coutainiug nothing 
but a little siliceous sand moistened with pure, fresh water, for over six months. During this 
whole period he seemed to be constantly in motion, walking round and round the jar and trying 
to climb out. He was never observed to rest or appear tired, and after months of confinement and 
starvation was just as pugnacious as ever. 

"Altliough some of the colonies of this species live nearly or quite up to fresh water, others 
are found farther down on the marshes, where the water is quite brackish, and thus there is a 
middle ground where this and G. pugnax occur together. This was found by Mr. Pruddeu to be 
the case both on the marshes bordering West River and on those of Mill River, near New Haven. 
They are abundant along both these streams. The holes made by this species are much larger 
than those of G. pugnax. Some of them are from an inch and a half to two inches in diameter. 

" On sandy beaches near high-water mark, especially where the sand is rather compact and 
somewhat sheltered, one of the 'Fiddler Crabs,' Gelasimus pugilator, is frequently found in great 
numbers, either running actively about over the sand, or peering cautiously from their holes, 
which are often thickly scattered over considerable areas. These holes are mostly from half an 
inch to an inch in diameter, and a foot or more in depth, the upper part nearly perpendicular, 
becoming horizontal below, with a chamber at the end. Mr. Smith, by lying perfectly still for 
some time on the sand, succeeded in witnessing their mode of digging. In doing this they drag 
up pellets of moist sand, which they carry under the three anterior ambulatory legs that are on 
the rear side, climbing out of their burrows by means of the legs of the side in front, aided by the 
posterior leg of the other side. After arriving at the mouth of their burrows and taking a cautious 
survey of the landscape, they run quickly to the distance often of four or five feet from the burrow 
before dropping their load, using the same legs as before and carrying the dirt in the same 
manner. They then take another careful survey of the surroundings, run nimbly back to the 
hole, and after again turning their pedunculated eyes in every direction suddenly disappear, soon 
to reappear with another load. They work in this way both in the night and in the brightest 
sunshine, whenever the tide is out and the weather is suitable. In coming out or going into their 



THE OYSTER CRAB. 765 

burrows either side may go in ailvance, but the male more commonly comes out with the large 
claw forward. According to Mr. Smith's observations this species is a vegetarian, feeding upon 
the minute algje which grows upon the moist sand. In feeding, the males use only the small 
claw, with which they pick up the bits of algie very daintily ; the females use indifferently either 
of their small claws for this purpose. They always swallow more or less sand with their food. 
Mr. Smith also saw these Crabs engaged in scraping up the surface of the sand where covered 
with their favorite algae, which they formed into pellets and carried into their holes, in the same 
way that thej' bring sand out, doubtless storing it until needed for food, for he often found large 
quantities stored in the terminal chamber." 

As above stated, the Fiddler Crabs are sometimes used as bait; and at the mouth of the 
Mississippi River G. pugnax has been observed, in connection with the river Cray -fish (Cambarus), 
burrowing into and greatly damaging the levees. 

Yellow Shoee-crab of the Pacific coast — Heterograpsus oregonbnsis, Stm. 

Purple Shore-crab of the Pacific coast — Heterograpsus nudus, Stm. 

According to W. N. Lockington, these two species are by far the most abundant of all the 
California coast Crabs; but they are only eaten by the Chinese. The body of these Crabs is 
nearly square, and the claws large in proportion. In E. oregonensis the anterior half of the 
lateral margins on each side has two rather deep indentations, resulting in the formation of two 
large spine-like projections, which bend strongly forward; in H. nudus these characters are less 
pronounced. The four posterior pairs of limbs in H. oregonensis are also more or less haii-y, 
while in H. nudus they are naked. The general color of the former species is yellow, of the 
latter purple; H. nudus also has marbled hands and attains a somewhat larger size than H. 
oregonensis, measuring at times two inches broad. Hundreds of one or other of these species of 
both sexes and of all sizes may frequently be found together, congregated under a single stone. 
H. oregonensis is especially abundant in muddy sloughs of salt or brackish water, where it 
literally swarms. Hundreds of uplifted threatening claws welcome the intruder who ventures 
near these mud flats when the tide is out. Both species occur at Puget Sound, and range thence 
southward to the southern limit of California. H. nudus also occurs at the Sandwich Islands. 
Both species are eaten to some extent by the Chinese, who spit them on wires and cook them 
over their fires. 

The Oyster-crab — Pinnotheres ostreum, Say. 

"The 'Oyster-crab,' Pinnotheres ostreum, is found wherever oysters occur. The female lives, 
at least when mature, within the shell of the oyster, in the gill cavity, and is well known to most 
consumers of oysters. The males are seldom seen, and rarely, if ever, occur in the oyster. We 
found them, on several occasions, swimming actively at the surface of the water in the middle of 
Vineyard Sound. They are quite unlike the females in appearance, being smaller, with a firmer 
shell, and they differ widely in color, for the carapax is dark brown above, with a central dorsal 
stripe and two conspicuous spots of whitish ; the lower side and legs are whitish. The female has 
the carapax thin and translucent, whitish, tinged with pink." ' 

This Crab has been recorded from the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to South Carolina. 
The females measure, when adult, about half an inch broad and a little less in length. From the 
European Oyster-crab (Pinnotheres 2)ismn) our species differs in having a thinner and more 
membranaceous shell and a larger size. The colors are also different in the two species. 

' Verrili,: Vineyard Sound Report, p. 367, 1871-'72. 



7(36 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

Pinnotheres ostreum is eaten both raw aud cooked, either along with the oysters with which it 
is associated, or as a separate dish. It is also pickled for domestic use and for the trade. 

Another si)ecies of Pinnotheres {P. maculatum) frequently occurs in the shells of the common 
sea-mussel [Mytihis ediMs) and the smooth scallop (Pecten tenuicostattis), between the gills of the 
animal. It attains a larger size than the Oyster-crab, and, as in the case of the latter, the females 
alone are parasitic, the males having only been found swimming at the surface of the sea. We 
have never heard of this species being eaten, probably because neither the mussel nor the smooth 
scallop has ever been used much as food in this country. In the summer of ISSO, while dredging 
off Newport, Rhode Island, the United States Fish Commission steamer Fish Hawk came upon 
extensive beds of the smooth scallop, fiom a bushel of which nearly a pint of these Crabs were 
obtained. Again, in 1881, the same species was encountered in great abundance by the same 
party, in Vineyard Sound, in Mytihis edulis. As an experiment, they were cooked along with the 
mussels and found to be very palatable, although their shell is, perhaps, somewhat harder than 
that of Pinnotheres ostreum. 

A third species of Pinnotheres occurs upon the west coast of the United States, in the shells of 
Pachydesma and Mytilus cali/ornianus. 

« The Rock Crab — Cancer irroratus. Say. 

Distribution and habits. — This is the common Crab of the New England coast, wnere 
adult specimens occur in all depths of water from low-tide level to about twelve fathoms 
Smaller specimens have, however, been obtained in from thirty to fifty fathoms, both near 
the coast aud on George's Bank, Stellwagen's Bank, and elsewhere. Its entire range, so far 
as determined, is from the Straits of Belle Isle, Labrador, to South Carolina. In the Gulf of 
Saint Lawrence it is exceedingly abundant, but south of New Jersey it is rare. According to 
Prof. S. I. Smith,' this species is not common in the muddy bays of the New Jersey coast, but 
is thrown up in large numbers upon the sandy outer beaches ; it is abundant on the sandy shores 
of the sonthern side of Long Island, and on the sandy and rocky shores of Long Island Sound; 
It is equally abundant, in similar situations, along all the rest of the south coast of New 
England and in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Casco Bays, but is apparently less common in 
the Bay of Fundy and at Halifax, Nova Scotia. "When found living between tides it is usually 
concealed among rocks or buried beneath the sand. It is usually much more abundant at or just 
below low-water mark, however, than between tides.'' 

"The common 'Rock Crab,' Cancer irroratus, is generally common under the large rocks near 
low- water mark, aud often lies nearly buried in the sand and gravel beneath them. It can be 
easily distinguished by having nine blunt teeth along each side of the front edge of its shell or 
carapax, and by its reddish color sprinkled over with darker brownish dots. This crab also occurs 
in the pools, where the comical combats of the males may sometimes be witnessed. It is not 
confined to rocky shores, but is common also on sandy shores, as well as on rocky and gravelly 
bottoms olf shore. It is widely diffused along our coast, extending both north aud south, and is 
common even on the coast of Labrador. Like all the other species of crabs, this is greedily 
devoured by many of the larger fishes, such as cod, haddock, tautog, black bass, aud especially 
by sharks aud sting-rays."^ 

External characters. — The car.apax of the Rock Crab is transverselj- suboval in outline, 
and about two-thirds as long as broad; the upper surface is moderately convex, with unequal 

'Trans. Conn. Acad., v, p. 38, 1879. -Vekkill: Vineyard Sound Report, p. 312, 1871-'72. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROCK CEAB. 767 

)ut symmetrically arranged mammillations, some of which are scarcely defined. The surface 
appears nearly smooth, but is really covered with closely-placed, minute granulations. The eyes 
stand on short, stout peduncles, which lie in deep circular holes on either side of the middle of 
the fii-ont margin. Between the eyes there are three small teeth, and on each side, between the 
eyes and the outer edge of the shell, the margin is indented to form nine broad and stout teeth. 
The claws are rather short and stout, the inner margins of the fingers bearing each a row of 
few, large, blunt, and sometimes double tubercles. The four posterior pairs of legs are similar 
to one another, long and slender, with pointed tips. The ground color of the carapax is yellowish, 
closely dotted with dark purplish-brown, which becomes a reddish -brown after death. 

The only species of Crab upon our Atlantic coast which could possibly be confounded wiih 
the present one is Cancer horealis, of which a description is given following this. The diiferences 
between the two species being once pointed out, there is no diflficulty in distinguishing between 
them. 

Economic value. — The Rock Crab is not much in demand as an article of food It is sold 
to some extent in the markets at Boston, New Bedford, Newport, New York, and perhaps 
elsewhere within the limits of its range, generally, if not always, in a hard-shell condition. 
But even in Boston, where it could be easily supplied, its place is mainly taken by the common 
edible Blue Crab {Gallinectes hastatus), which is sent there fresh from New York and other 
localities. The two species of Cancer are, however, more nearly related to the English edible 
Crab {Cancer pagurus) than is our own common edible Crab, and, were this kind of food more 
appreciated by the American seacoast inhabitants, there is no reason why the Rock Crab, as 
well as the "Jonah," should not be utilized to a very great extent. In some places, Newport 
for instance, the two species of Cancer, but especially the Cancer borealis, aie preferred to the 
Callinectes hastatus, but this is not the rule elsewhere. 

Development. — The following account of the growth and development of this Crab, by 
Prof. S. I. Smith, will sufflce, in a general way, for nearly all the American species of Crabs, and 
will serve to indicate the curious changes which take place before the simple crab egg becomes a 
well-developed Crab. Such an account as this becomes very valuable in many cases as a means of 
pointing out the essential details to be followed in the artificial breeding of marine animals. 

"All, or at least nearly all, the species of Crabs living on the coast of New England pass 
through very complete and remarkable metamorphoses. The most distinct stages through which 
they pass were long ago described as two groups of crustaceans, far removed from the adult forms 
of which they were the young. The names Zoea and Megalops, originally applied to these groups, 
are conveniently retained for the two best marked stages in the development of the Crabs. 

"The young of the common Crab {Cancer irr or atus), in the earlier or zoea stage, when fir.st 
hatched from the egg, are somewhat like the form figured [reproduced on one of the plates at the 
end of this volume], but the spines upon the carapax are all much longer in proportion, and there 
are no signs of the abdominal legs or of any of the future legs of the Megalops and Crab. 
In this stage they are very small, much smaller than in the stage figured. After they 
have increased very much in size, and have molted probably several times, they appear as in 
the figure just referred to. The terminal segment of the abdomen, seen only in a side view in the 
figure, is very broad and divided nearly to the base by a broad sinus; each side the margins 
project in long, spiniform, diverging processes, at the base of which the margin of the sinus is 
armed with six to eight spines on each side. When alive they are translucent, with deposits of 
dark pigment forming spots at the articulations of the abdomen and a few upon the cephalothorax 
and its appendages. In this stage they were taken at the surface in Vineyard Sound, in immense 



768 NATUEAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

numbers, from June 23 to late in August. They were most abundant in the early part of Jui^. 
and api3eared in the greatest numbers on calm, sunny days. 

"Several Zoete of this stage were observed to change directly to the megalops form. Shortly 
before the change took place they were not quite as active as previously, but still continued to 
swim about until they appeared to be seized by violent convulsions, and after a moment began to 
wriggle rapidly out of the old zoea skin, and at once appeared in the full megalops form. The 
new integument seems to stiften at once, for in a verj' few moments after freeing itself from the 
old skin the new Megalops was swimming about as actively as the oldest individuals. 

"In this megalops stage the animal begins to resemble the adult. The five pairs of cepha- 
lothoracic legs are much like those of the adult, and the mouth-organs have assumed nearly their 
final form. The eyes, howev^er, are still enormous in size, the carapax is elongated and has a 
slender rostrum and a long spine projecting from the cardiac region far over the posterior Dorder, 
and the abdomen is carried extended, and is furnished with powerful swimming-legs, as in the 
Macroura. In color and habits they are quite similar to the later stage of the Zoeae from which 
they came: their motions ajjpear, however, to be more regular and not so rapid, although they 
swim with great facility. In this Megalops the dactyli of the posterior cephalothoracic legs are 
styliform, and are each furnished at the tip witli three peculiar setae of different lengths and with 
strongly curved extremities, the longest one simple and about as long as the dactylus itself, while 
the one next in length is armed along the inner side of the curved extremity with what appear to 
be minute teeth, and the shortest one is again simple. 

"According to the observations made at Wood's HoU, the young of Cancer irroratus remain 
in the Megalops stage only a very short time, and at the first molt change to a form very near 
that of the adult. Notwithstanding this, they occurred in vast numbers, and were taken in the 
towing-nets in greater quantities even than in the zoea stage. Their time of occurrence seemed 
nearly simidtaneous with that of the Zoeae, and the two forms were almost always associated. The 
exact time any particular individual remained in this stage was observed only a few times. One 
full-grown Zoea obtained June 23, and placed in a vessel by itself, changed to a Megalops between 
9 and 11.30 a. m. of June 24, and did not molt again till the forenoon of June 27, when it became 
a young Crab of the form described farther on. Of the two other Zoeae obtained at the same time, 
and placed together in a dish, one changed to a Megalops between 9 and 11.30 a. m. of June 24, 
the other during the following night; these both changed to Crabs during the night of June 20 
and 27. 

"In the two or three instances in which the change from the Megalops to the young Crab was 
actually observed, the Megalops sank to the bottom of the dish and remained quiet for some time 
before the molting took place. The muscular movements seemed to be much less violent than in 
the molting at the close of the zoea stage, and the little Crab worked himself out of the megalops 
skin quite slowly. For a short time after their appearance the young Crabs were soft and inactive, 
but the integument very soon stiffened, and in the course of two or three hours they acquired all 
the pugnacity of the adult. They swam about with ease and were constantly attacking each 
other and their companions in the earlier stages. Many of the deaths recorded in the above 
memorandum were due to them, and on this account they were removed from the vessel at each 
observation. In this early stage the young Crabs are quite different from the adult. The carapax 
is about three millimeters long and slightly less in breadth. The front is much more promineni 
than in the adult, but still has the same number of lobes and the same general form. The antero- 
lateral margin is much more longitudinal than in the adult, and is armed with the five normai 
teeth, which are long and acute, and four very much smaller secondary teeth alternating with the 



HABITS OF THE JONAH CRAB. 769 

normal ones. The antennae and ambulatory legs are proportionally longer than in the adult. Tlie 
young Crabs in this stage were once or twice taken iu the towing-net, but they were not common 
at the surface, although a large number were fouud, with a few iu the megalops stage, among 
bydrouls upon a floating barrel iu Vineyard Sound, July 7." ' 



ft 



The Jonah Grab — Cancer boeealis, Stimpson. 



Affinities. — The " Jonah Crab " is very closely related to the common Rock Crab, and is 
also to some extent associated with it in its distribution. The two species are so much alike in 
shape and general characters that they were origuially regarded as the male and female respect- 
ively of one and the same species. They are, however, quite distinct, and after the differences 
have been once noticed there is no difficulty in distinguishing between them. The Jonah Crab 
differs from the Rock Crab iu the much larger size of adult specimens, in the rougher surface of 
the carapax and claws, caused by the larger granules covering it, which are of irregular size, some 
being much larger than others, and by the serrations of the antero- lateral margins being crenate 
and the posterior ones armed with numerous sharp points, instead of being simple as in the Rock 
Crab. The legs of the Jonah Crab are also proportionately shorter and heavier than those of 
the Rock Crab. The color of Cancer borealis is yellowish beneath and brick-red above, the limbs 
corresponding more or less in coloration with the lower surface, but of a light reddish tint above. 

Distribution and habits. — Besides being found in moderately deep water, the Jonah Crab, 
in certain localities, inhabits the rocks near low-tide level, in the clear waters of the ocean shores, 
but it never occurs in muddy or sandy bays and harbors wliere the Rock Crab abounds. The 
range of Cancer borealis is from the eastern end of Long Island Sound to Nova Scotia, but it is 
not found everywhere within these limits, being apparently local in its distribution and abundant 
only within certain more or less restricted areas. The principal localities where it has been 
observed are as follows: off Noauk, Connecticut; off Watch Hill and Newport, and in Narra- 
gansett Bay, Rhode Island ; Vineyard Sound, Noman's Land, and Salem, Massachusetts ; Casco 
Bay, Maine ; Bay of Fundy and Nova Scotia. In 1880, the United States Fish Commissiou found 
the Jonah Crab abundant everywhere in the lower part of Narragansett Bay from about low-tide 
level down to the greatest depths of the bay, and it was likewise very common oft' the bay, and 
off the north end of Block Island. The following account of the habits and distribution of this 
species is taken from Prof. S. I. Smith's account:* 

" In habits this species differs very greatly from irroratus. The best opportunities which I 
have had for observing it were at Peak's Island, in Casco Bay, August and September, 1873. 
Empty carapaces, chelipeds, etc., of borealis were at first found in abundance scattered along the 
outer shores, far above the action of the waves, where they had evidently been carried by gulls 
and crows, and were also found in considerable numbers half a mile from the shore, iu a forest of 
coniferous trees thickly inhabited by crows. For several weeks no living specimens of borealis 
were discovered, although the irroratus was found living in abundance all about the island, 
without, however, its remains scarcely ever being found scattered about with those of borealis. 
The borealis was finally discovered in abundance at low water on the exposed and very rocky 
shores of the uorthern end of the island. At this locality, between eighty and ninety specimens, 
all females and many of them carrying eggs, were obtained in a single morning. They were all 
found iu situations exposed to the action of the waves, and were either resting, entirely exposed, 
upon the bare rocks and ledges, or clinging to the seaweeds in the edge of the waves, or iu the 

1 S. I. Smith, Vineyard .Sound Report, pp. 530-533, 1871-'72. 
2 Trans. Conn. Acad., v, p. 40, 1879. 
49 F 



770 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

tide-pools. They were never found concealed beneath the rocks, where, however, irroratm 
abotinded. It is a much heavier and more massive species than the irroratus, and is consequently 
much better adapted than that species to the situations in which it is found. So many individuals 
falling a prey to birds is evidently a result of the habit of remaining exposed between tides, 
although the heavy shell must afford much greater protection than the comparatively fragile 
covering of irroratus would afford to that species if similarly exposed. The borealis was also 
found at a somewhat similar locality, but more exposed to the sea, on Ram Island Ledge, a low 
reef open to the full foice of the ocean. One specimen of moderate size was dredged in the ship 
channel between Peak's Island and Cape Elizabeth, in ten fathoms, rocky and shelly bottom, and 
specimens were several times captured in lobster-traps, set at a depth of eight or ten fathoms, 
among rocks. Specimens were also several times found in stomachs of the cod taken on the cod 
ledges. 

"In the vicinity of Vineyard Sound, this species was not infrequently found thrown upon 
sandy beaches, but never upon beaches very far removed from rocky reefs. The following are 
the localities where it was seen in greatest numbers: Along the sandy beach of Martha's 
Vineyard, from Menemsha Bight to Gay Head; the rocky island of Cuttyhunk; and the rocky 
outer shores of Nomau's Land, where dead specimens were found in considerable abundance. In 
the vicinity of No mk, Connecticut, it was occasionally found dead upon the shores, and was 
several times obtained from lobster-traps. 

"The largest si)ecimens I have seen are two males, of almost exactly the same size, one from 
Casco Bay, the other from near Noank, Connecticut. The carapax of the specimen from Casco 
Bay is three and one half inches long and five and three-fourths inches broad." 

Economic valtje. — Cancer borealis is supplied to the Newport markets in small quantities 
during most of the summer months, and is much esteemed there as food, being considered by 
many preferable to the Blue Crab (Callinectes hastatus). It is taken by the fishermen on the shore 
and in shallow water. 

Name. — The term " Jonah Crab," which we have adopted here for this species, is the one by 
wliich it is commonly known in and about Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, and to some extent 
also about V'ineyard Sound, Massachusetts, but apparently not elsewhere. The origin of the 
name we have not been able to ascertain. lu most localities where it occurs it is confounded by 
the fishermen with the commoner Rock Crab. 

The Common ckab op the Pacific coast — Cancee magistee, Dana. 

This is the largest of the edible species of Crabs of the Pacific coast of the United States, and 
likewise the most important. It is the only species commonly eaten in San Francisco, although 
two other species inhabiting the same region, and which are described further on (Cancer productus 
and Cancer antennnrius), are also edible and of good flavor. The canipax of adult males usually 
measures from seven to nine inches in breadth and four to five inches in length; the females 
average much smaller. The color of the upper surface is a light reddish -brown, darkest in front; 
the limbs and under surface are yellowish. The anterior margin of the carapax forms a nearly 
regular elliptical curve, reaching back to about the middle of the sides and interrupted by nine 
slightly prominent, sharp teeth on each side. At the termination of this curve on each side, there 
is a strong, pointed tooth, projecting directly outward, and forming the commencement of the 
posterolateral margins, which are long and slope abruptly backward so as to leave but a narrow 
posterior margin. The surface of the carapax is slightly convex, undulated, and covered with 
papillie; the claws are strongly toothed above and ribbed at the sides. 



THE ROCK CRAB OF THE PACIFIC. 771 

This species has quite an extended range, having been recorded from Sitka, Alaska, in the 
north, and from Magdalena Bay, Lower California, in the south ; but whether these are its extreme 
northern and southern limits or not is unknown. In the Bay of San Francisco it is very abundant, 
aud large quantities are constantly captured and brought to the markets in that city; it is also 
taken for food in Monterey Bay, California. 

It occurs most commonly on the sandy bottoms, below low-tide level, and is seldom found, at 
least to any extent, between tide-marks. The supplies sent to the San Francisco markets come 
mainly from the San Francisco side of the bay, especially from the south side of the Golden Gate, 
between the city and the sea. They are also taken in abundance from about the wharves and piers 
in the Bay of San Francisco. Crab-nets baited with fish and ofial are used for catching them. 
Nothing is known regarding the spawning season and habits of this species. The fishermen say 
they spawn in March or April. The occurrence of a female with spawn in the San Francisco 
market has not yet been recorded by any naturalist. 

The Red Crab — Cancer productus, Randall. 

This is a very common species in the Bay of San Francisco, although less abundant than the 
last (Cancer magister). It also attains a large size, adult individuals measuring from five to seven 
or more inches in breadth across the carapax, and from two and a half to four inches in length. 
The ijroportion of width to length is rather greater in the males than in the females. The antero- 
lateral borders of the carapax form an ellipse, broken in the center in front by a slight projection, 
by which the specific name was suggested. The teeth of the front and of the antero-lateral bor- 
ders are distinctly separate in the adult, but in the very young exist only as wrinklings of the 
edge of the carapax. The postero-lateral margins are concave and short. The claws are of 
medium size compared with the carapax, and the posterior limbs are slender and plain. The color 
of adult specimens is an intense dark red or reddish-brown above and yellowish-white below ; the 
young differ from the adults in their more variable coloring, some being of a dark reddish- 
brown, others yellow spotted with red, and still others banded with red and yellow. The shape of 
the carapax, with its produced front, sufficiently distinguishes this species of Cancer from all the 
others on the Pacific coast. 

Cancer productus is found along the entire Pacific co^st of the United States, and has been 
recorded from Magdalena Bay, Lower California, and the Queen Charlotte's Islands and other 
localities, in British Columbia. It is very abundant in the Bays of San Francisco, Monterey, and 
Tomales, and also occurs at Santa Barbara and San Diego. Its habitat is in the shallow water 
along the shores, principally in rocky sections, and it is frequently found between tide-marks, 
often taking refuge in pools under stones near low-tide level. 

Stimpson, in 1856, recorded seeing this species in the San Francisco markets, but it is no 
longer taken there, unless by accident or inadvertence, the larger and more abundant Cancer 
magister fully sujjplying the demands. In case of the latter becoming scarce, however. Cancer 
productus would become an important article of capture. 

The Rock Crab of the Pacific coast — Cancer antennarius, Stimpson. 

This species is of about the same average size as Cancer productus, and is tolerably abundant 
along the Pacific coast, from Queen Charlotte's Islands, in the north, to Magdalena Bay, Lower 
California, in the south. Although as regards edible qualities it is said to compare favorably 
with Cancer magister, it has 7iot, up to the present time, been brought to the Sun Francisco 
markets. The carapax of adult specimens measures three and a half or more inches in length. 



772 NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

and from five to six inches across. The carpus and hand of the big claws are smooth or nearly 
so, and the external antennae are very large and hairy. The margins of the abdomen and of 
other parts of the lower surface of the body, as well as the ambulatory feet, are very hairy, and 
this character, together with the great length and hairiness of the antennae, serves as the best 
distinguishing feature of the species. Young individuals are more hirsute than adults. The 1 
color of the carapax is a dark purijlish brown ; the chelipeds in adults are marbled with purplish 
spots. 

The Pacific Rock Crab does not often occur on the shore between tides; it appears to frequent 
deeper water than either Cancer magister or G. produetus, being abundant in from two to three 
fathoms, always, however, among rocks. 

The Mud Crabs — Panopeus Herbstii, Edwards ; Panopeus depressus. Smith ; Panopeus 

Sayi, Smith ; Panopetts Harrisu, Stimpson. 

Four species of the so-called Mud Crabs occur upon oiu' Atlantic coast: Panopeus Herbstii 
ranges from Long Island Sound to Brazil, but is not common north of New Jersey; P. depressus, 
from Cape Cod to Florida, and often carried much farther north with oysters; P. Hayi, associated 
with the last and having the same range; P. Harrisii, from Massachusetts Bay to Florida. 
P. Herbstii is rather the larger species, specimens from Floi ida and the West Indies measuring 
fully two inches across the back. The color is a dark olive above, the fingers of the claws being 
black, though lighter at the tips. This species is occasionally sold as food in the New Orleans 
markets, and is sometimes used as bait. The other three species are more or less abundant in 
numerous localities where they could also be obtained as bait. Professor Verrill refers to them 
as follows : 

"Two small kinds of Crabs are very abundant under the stones, especially where there is some 
mud. Tliese are dark olive-brown and have the large claws broadly tipped with black. They 
are often called Mud Crabs on account of their fondness for muddy places. One of these, the 
Panopeus depressus, is decidedly flattened above, and is usually a little smaller than the second, 
the Panjpeus Sayi, whicb is somewhat convex above. They are usually found together and have 
similar habits. A third small species of the same genus is occasionally met with under stones, 
but lives rather higher up toward high- water mark, and is comparatively rare. This is the 
Panopeus Harrisii. It can be easily distinguished, for it lacks the black on the ends of the big 
claws and has a groove along the edge of the front of the carapax, between the eyes. This last 
species is also found in the salt marshes, and was originally discovered on the marshes of the 
Charles River, near Boston. All the species of Panopeus are southern forms, extending to Florida, 
or to the Gulf coast of the Southern States, but they are rare north of Cape Cod, and not found 
at all on the coast of Maine. They contribute largely to the food of the tautog and other 
fishes."' 

The Stone Crab — Menippe mercenarius, Gibbes. 

This is one of the two edible species of Crabs occurring upon the Southern Atlantic coast of 
the United States, Gallineetes hastatus being the other and more important one, on account of its 
greater abundance. The recorded range of the Stone Crab is from Charleston Harbor, South 
Carolina, to Key West, Florida, but the so-called Stone Crabs of the Gulf of Mexico probably 
belong, in part at least, to the same species, and it has also been recently collected on the coast 
of North Carolina. 



1 Vineyard Sound Report, pp. 312, 313, 1871-'72. 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE STONE CRAB. 773 

« 

The Stone Crab is much stouter and heavier than the Blue Crab, of more solid build, and 
!vith a much thicker shell-covering both on the body and claws. There is, moreover, no similarity 
Oetween the two species. The carapax of adult individuals measures about three inches in length 
by about four and a half inches in width, and the body is from one and a half to two inches thick. 
The large claws, when folded against the front of the body, measure about seven inches from 
elbow to elbow. One claw is somewhat larger than the other. 

Prof. Lewis R. Gibbes has kindly furnished the following notes on the habits of this species 
as observed in the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina : 

"They live in holes in the mud along the borders of the creeks and estuaries of the coast, 
and are taken by the hand, thrust down several inches, sometimes fifteen to twenty, to reach the 
inhabitant at the bottom, at the risk of a severe bite from one or both of its claws. Tliey can 
also be found in the crevices between fragments of any solid material, occurring near their haunts, 
such as rejected stone ballast, fragments of brick thrown out as waste from houses or other 
structures in the city or vicinity. Again, they occur in similar situations along the breakwater, 
constructed some forty years ago to protect a part of the front beach of Sullivan's Island, at the 
mouth of the harbor, from the destructive action of the waves. They offer a stout resistance to 
being dragged from their chosen retreat, by firmly pressing their powerful claws against the walls 
of their abode. From their holes in the mud they are drawn with some difficulty, with a quantity 
of the mud adhering to them ; and if the walls of their retreat are solid, and cannot be removed 
from around them, they cling to them with such tenacity that not unfrequently they are brought 
out piecemeal, first one claw, then the other, and finally the body." 

Professor Gibbes further states that the Stone Crabs are highly esteemed as food, and preferred 
to the Blue Crab, as the meat of their large claws is more lobster-like in texture and flavor. 
From the difficulty of capturing them, however, they are much less common in the markets than 
the Blue Crab, and command a higher price. They are also apparently less abundant. Like the 
Blue Crab, they are constant dwellers upon our coast, and could doubtless be taken at all times 
during the year. Soft-shelled specimens are seldom if ever brought to market- 
In the Gulf of Mexico, according to Mr. Silas Stearns, the Stone Crab is not so universally 
common as the Blue Crab, although it is found along the entire coast. It seems to be most 
abundant on the southern and western coasts of Florida where the bottom, being more rocky than 
elsewhere, is best suited to its habits. In this section it lives in cavities in the rocks, and in deep 
holes which it excavates in the sand. It attains a larger size than the Blue Crab, measuring in 
adult species one or two inches more across the carapax than the latter species. The people 
living upon the coast where the Stone Crab is so abundant and so large esteem it highly, and 
regard it as an important food supply. Owing to the persistent way in which it keeps on the 
bottom, and in its hiding places, it cannot be captured as easily as the other species. The most 
common method of capture is, after finding its hole or place of retreat, to run the hand and arm 
down quickly and drag it out. To one unversed in this practice it seems a dangerous operation, 
but it is not so. The crab lies in its hole with its claws uppermost or outermost, and considering 
its well-known slowness and clumsiness of action, a man's strong grip finds no difficult}' in 
controlling them. In other parts of the Gulf, away from the Florida coast, visited by Mr. Stearns, 
he did not find the Stone Crabs nearly so abundant. They were mostly confined to oyster beds 
and stone heaps, and were inferior in size to the Florida specimens. 

As the Stone Crabs generally live more or less buried beneath the bottom, their movements 
are probably less affected by tides and changes of temperature than the Blue Crabs. They have 
never ajipeared for sale in the markets of any of the larger cities and towns of the Gulf coast, on 



774 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

account of the difficulty of procuring them. By those who have eaten them they are considered 
decidedly superior to the Blue Crab in flavor. 

The Green Ceab — Caecintts m^nas, Leach. 

This Crab, which is one of the most common species on the coast of Great Britain, also 
abounds upon our Atlantic coast, from Cape Cod to New Jersey and perhaps farther south. It is 
very abundant in Vineyard Sound, Buzzard's Bay, and Long Island Sound. The body is of a 
bright-green color, varied with spots and blotches of yellow, making it very conspicuous; adult 
specimens measure about two inches in width and one and a half inches in length. The surfaces 
of the carapax and limbs are more or less granulated. 

" The Green Crab, Garcinus mcenas, occurs quite frequently well up toward high- water mark, 
hiding under the loose stones, and nimbly running away when disturbed. It may also be found, 
at times, in the larger tidal pools. It often resorts to the holes and cavernous places under the 
peaty banks of the shores, or along the small ditches and streams cutting through the peaty 
marshes near the shore." ' 

It is most abundant between tide-marks, or near low-water mark, and is seldom found below 
a very few fathoms in depth. 

The Green Crab is an article of food in some parts of Europe, where it occurs abundantly. In 
England it is occasionally used as bait, especially while in a soft-shell state. It is said to be often 
very annoying to the salmon fishermen in that country. " Trout and mackerel are reduced to 
skeletons in a very short time, and grilse and salmon often rendered unfit for market by an 
unseemly scar, the work of these marauders."^ 

In this country, the Green Crab is frequently used as bait on the Southern New England 
coast, especially for the tautog. In Vineyard Sound and Buzzard's Bay it is known to the 
fishermen as the " Joe Rocker." 

The Lady Ceab — Platyonichus ocellattjs, Latreille. 

The "Lady Crab," or " Sand Crab," is abundant on nearly all our sandy shores from Cape Cod 
to Florida, and in the Gulf of Mexico ; it ranges from low-water mark to a depth of ten fathoms. 
This species is easily distinguished from all our other Crabs by the shape and color of its carapax, 
taken in connection with the character of its posterior pair of limbs, which are modified into 
swimming organs, as in the edible Crab. Its body is nearly as long as broad, the margins rudely 
indicating a six-sided figure. The front lateral margins bear five spines each, which are directed 
forward, and the front margin is deeply indented on each side of a slightly projecting thiee- 
spiued rostrum, to form cavities for the eyes. The front limbs, those bearing the claws, are long 
and rather slender, and the succeeding three pairs are simple in their structure. " The color of 
this Crab is quite bright and does not imitate the sand on which it lives, probably owing to its 
mode of concealment. The ground-color is white, but the back is covered with annular spots 
formed by si)ecks of red and purple. The Lady Crab is perfectly at home among the loose sands 
at low-water mark, even on the most exposed beaches. It is also abundant on sandy bottoms ofl" 
shore, and as it is furnished with swimming organs on its posterior legs, it can swim rapidly in 
the water, and has been taken at the surface in several instances, and some of the specimens thus 
taken were of full size. When living at low-water mark on the sand beaches, it generally buries 
itself up to its eyes and antennae in the sand, watching for prey, or on the lookout for enemies. 
If disturbed, it quickly glides backward and downward into the sand and disappears instantly. 

'Vkeeill: Vineyard Sound Report, p. 312, 1871-'72. 
' White: Popular History of the British Crustacea. 



THE EDIBLE CRAB. 775 

This power of quickly burrowing deeply into the sand it possesses in common with all the other 
marine animals of every class which inhabit the exposed beaches of loose sand, for upon this 
habit their very existence depends during storms. By burying themselves deep they are beyond 
the reach of breakers. 

" The Lady Crab is predaceous in its habits, feeding upon various smaller creatures, but, like 
most of the Crabs, it is also fond of dead fishes or any other dead animals. In some localities 
they are so abundant that a dead fish or shark will in a short time be completely covered with 
them • but if a person should approach they will all suddenly slip off backwards and quickly 
disappear in every direction beneath the sand. After a short time, if everything be quiet, 
immense numbers of eyes and antennse will be gradually and cautiously protruded from beneath 
the sand and after their owners have satisfied themselves that all is well the army of Crabs will 
soon appear above the sand again and continue their operations." ' 

This species is used as bait on many parts of the coast, especially about Vineyard Sound 
and Buzzard's Bay. It is also an important article of food at New Orleans, Louisiana, and is 
occasionally taken to the New York markets. 

222. THE COMMON EDIBLE OR BLUE CRAB -CALLINECTES HASTATUS, Ordway. 

Distribution. The common edible Crab of the eastern coast of the United States, generally 

termed " Blue Crab" at the North and " Sea Crab" at the South, ranges from Cape Cod to Florida, 
and also occurs in the Gulf of Mexico, and is occasionally taken in Massachusetts Bay. Next to 
the Lobster, it is the most important crustacean of our waters in a commercial point of view. 
There are several species of the genus Gallinectes living upon the coast of the Southern States. 
Callineetes hastatus, the genuine Blue Crab, is positively known to occur as far south as Louis- 
iana, and is probably the only species brought to the New York markets. Gallinectes ornutus 
inhabits Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, and extends southward from there, but to what 
extent has not been determined. Two other species, Callineetes larvatus and G. tumidus, have 
been recorded from Southern Florida and the West Indies. Which of these four species occurs 
in the greatest abundance in the Gulf of Mexico, and is there most commonly taken for food, we 
are unable to state, as no careful examination of market supplies from that region has ever been 

made. 

External characters.— The shell of the Blue Crab is about twice as broad as long, 
including the stout, sharp spines which project from each side. Between the spine of each side 
and the eye of that side the margin is armed with about eight short and acute spines, which are 
largest at the side and gradually decrease in size toward the eye. Between the eyes, which are 
placed in slight recesses, the margin forms four broad, unequal-sided teeth, with a median spine 
underneath. The front limbs, including the claws, are similar in shape but somewhat unequal in 
size; they have several strong sharp spines above. The three succeeding pairs of limbs are 
slender, similar to one another, and terminate in sharp points. The posterior pair, however, end 
in an expanded oval joint, especially adapted for swimming. The entire body of this species is 
considerably compressed, tbe carapax being only moderately convex above; the surface, excepting 
near the posterior margin, is covered with minute granulations, which are more numerous over 
some portions than over others. The entire margin of the carapax and abdomen is bordered with 
fine hairs, and most of the joints of the limbs are ornamented in the same way. 

The abdomen of the female is very broad, and when not charged with eggs fills in the entire 



'Veeeill : Vineyard Sound Report, p. 338, 1871-'72. 



776 NATCTEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

space between the bases of the posterior pairs of legs. Duriug the spawning season, however, the 
eggs are so numerous and form such a large mass that they throw the abdomen some distance out 
from the lower surface of the body, causing it to project almost at riyht angles with the upper 
surface of the carapax. The upper surface of the shell and claws is of a dark-green color, and 
the lower surface of a dingy white; feet blue; tips of fingers and spines reddish. 

Habits, uses, etc.— The following account of the habits of the Blue Crab is by Professor 
Verrill : 

"The common edible Crab or 'Blue Crab' is a common inhabitant of muddy shores, especially 
in sheltered coves and bays. It is a very active species, and can swim rapidly. It is, therefore, 
often seen swimming at or near the surface. The full-grown individuals generally keep away from 
the shores, in shallow water, frequenting muddy bottoms, especially among the eel-grass, and are 
also found in large numbers in the somewhat brackish waters of estuaries and the mouths of 
rivers. The young specimens of all sizes, up to two or three inches in breadth, are, however, very 
frequent along the muddy shores, hiding in the grass and weeds or under the peaty banks at high 
water and retreating as the tide goes down. When disturbed they swim away quickly into deeper 
water. They also have the habit of pushing themselves backward into and beneath the mud for 
concealment. They are predaceous in their habits, feeding upon small fishes and various other 
animal food. They are very pugnacious, and have remarkable strength in their claws, which they 
use with great dexterity. When they have recently shed their shells they are caught in great 
numbers for the markets, and these 'soft-shelled Crabs' are much esteemed by many. Those with 
hard shells are also sold in our markets, but are not valued so highly. This Crab can easily 
be distinguished from all the other species found in this region by the sharp spine on each side of 
the carapax. . . . They are usually . brought to market early in May, but the 'soft-shelled' 
ones, which are more highly esteemed, are taken later. These soft-shelled individuals are merely 
those that have recently shed their old shells, while the new shell has not had time to harden. 
The period of shedding seems to be irregular and long continued, for soft-shelled Crabs are taken 
nearly all summer. The young and half-grown specimens of this Crab may often be found in 
considerable numbers hiding in the holes and hollows beneath the banks during the> flood tide. 
When disturbed, they swim away quietly into deeper water. These small Crabs are devoured by 
many of the larger fishes. During flood tide the large Crabs swim up the streams like many fishes 
and retreat again with the ebb. They feed largely on fishes, and often do much damage by eating 
fishes caught in set-nets, frequently making large holes in the nets at the same time."' 

Besides devouring living animals, the Blue Crab "feeds on dead animal matter in its various 
stages of putrescence, and is one of the many depurators of the ocean. It often buries Itself in 
the sand, so that no part is visible but the eyes and anterior antenna; these last are then in 
continual motion, the bifid terminal joint acting as forceps to seize and convey to its mouth the 
small molluscous animals for food. The shell is cast annually, and they are then known by the 
name of 'soft shell Crab,' are very delicate, and in particular request for the table. In this state 
the Crab is incapable of any defense from its enemies ; the male usually retires to a secluded 
situation for security, but the adult female is protected by a male whose shell is hard. They are 
then called double Crabs."^ 

On different parts of the coast. Crabs in the soft state are known respectively as " Soft Crabs," 
"Shedders," or "Peelers." The terms "Soft Crab," "Paper-shell," and "Buckler" denote the 
different stages of consistency of the shell, from the time of shedding until it has become nearly 

'Vineyard Sound Report, pp. 367, 368, 468, 1871-'72. 
^Sat: Joum. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., i, p. 66, 1817. 



BEEEDING HABITS OP THE EDIBLE CRAB. 777 

hard again. For instance, immediately after shedding it is a " Soft Crab"; as the shell becomes 
slightly hardened it is called "Paper-shell," and just before reaching its normal hardness it is 
termed "Buckler." 

CaUinectes hastatus does not appear to be confined to salt and brackish water only, for it has 
been known to ascend the Saint John's Eiver, Florida, a distance of one hundred miles, to where 
the water is sufficiently fresh for drinking. 

According to Prof. Lewis R. Gibbes, of Charleston, South Carolina, the Blue Crab is abundant 
in and about Charleston Harbor, and is largely taken for food. ATOragesized specimens measure 
about two and a half inches long and five to five and a half broad, including the lateral spines. 
It occurs, feeding and swimming on the bottom and between the bottom and the surface, in the 
deeper water of the harbor, and in the shallower waters of rivers and creeks. It is also found 
walking on the muddy borders of creeks or rivers, and on the marshes, when the tide is out. For 
market, these Crabs are occasionally taken by the fishermen in cast-nets while seeking fish, but the 
customary crab-net is a sort of dip-net attached to a pole. In the deeper water, it is sometimes 
necessary to entice the Crabs to the surface by means of bait attached to cords. Although Blue 
Crabs occur in this region more or less throughout the entire year, they are chiefly taken for the 
market in the spring and early summer months, as they are then in the best condition and most 
highly esteemed for their flavor. Both hard and soft shell individuals are eaten. They seem to be 
as common now as formerly. 

Mr. Silas Stearns, of Pensacola, Florida, writes as follows concerning the habits, etc., of 
CaUinectes in the Gulf of Mexico : 

" The Blue Crab is more abundant than the Stone Crab, and is distributed along the entire 
Gulf coast. It is found out in the Gulf, in the bays and estuaries, and very often in fresh-water 
rivers and lakes that have close connection with some body of salt water. It lives in the shoaler 
waters during the summer months, from about April to November, and retires to the deeper water 
on the approach of cold weather, to remain half dormant until the first warm day or settled mild 
weather. Its first move in the spring is to the grass-covered shoals, where various kinds of fishes 
and other marine animals have just deposited their eggs, upon which it feeds greedily. All 
through the summer it is found in such places as these, acting both as a scavenger of decomposing 
animal matter and as one of the most dreaded enemies of small fish and their spawn. At high tide 
the Crabs come nearer to the shore than at low tide, and at all times the young are more venture- 
some than the old. Hiding under patches of seaweed, behind and under logs and roots of trees 
and in the sand, the young spend the period of high tide at the very water's edge. 

" The period of spawning and shedding extends through several months, probably the entire 
summer, for some individuals are found loaded with spawn and others in a soft state during the 
whole season. This summer (1880), while at Saint Joseph's Bay, on this coast, I found large 
quantities of females, heavy with spawn, lying just at the edge of the surf on the sea-beach. 
They were quite inactive, and there were no males among them. While shedding its shell, and 
until the new shell has become sufficiently hard to protect it, the Blue Crab remains hidden in 
the mud or among seaweeds. This is the most active of all the Gulf species of Crabs. It swims 
easily and rapidly at the surface at times, and its movements at the bottom are remarkably swift. 
It is also very pugnacious, and not only fights its own kind, but also shows a bold front to its 
enemies, including man. The average size of the Blue Crab is about six inches broad across the 
shell. 

"Being so common that people nearly everywhere along the coast can obtain any quantity 
for the mere trouble of capturing them, they have given rise to no defined industry excepting in 



778 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. I 

the larger cities. Outside of Kew Orleans, in fact, there is no regular trade in Blue Crabs. In 
the early spring they are trolled from deep water to within reach of a dip-net, by means of a piece 
of meat attached to a long strmg. Later in the season, when the water has become warmer, they 
may be dipped up with a dip-net all along the shore. About Pensacola, the catching of Crabs is 
classed among the sports. During warm summer evenings, parties of men, women, and children 
set out for secluded portions of the bay shore, where they pursue the Crabs, with torches and jigs 
or dip-nets, until they are tired. A midnight supper, made up mainly of the Crabs and flsh they 
have taken, follows, and the enjoyment concludes with a moonlight sail homeward." 

The Spider Crabs — Libinia emarginata. Leach ; LismiA dubia, Edwards. 

The Spider Crabs are inhabitants of shallow water along the Atlantic coast, from Western 
Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. The two species resemble one another very closely, but the 
emarginata is more thickly covered with spines than the dwhia, which is also further distinguished 
by being narrower across the front, and by having a longer rostrum. As a rule, the latter species 
is found more commonly than the former in the very shallow water near shore, and its range is 
more restricted toward the north, not passing beyond Cape Cod. 

Professor Verrill says of their habits, that " they are very common on muddy shores and flats. 
They hide beneath the surface of the mud and decaying weeds, or among the eel-grass, and are 
very sluggish in their motions. The whole surface of the body is covered with hairs, which 
entangle particles of mud and dirt of various kinds; and sometimes hydroids, algae, and even 
barnacles grow upon their shells, contributing to their more ready concealmeut. The males are 
much larger than the females, and have long and stout claws. They often spread a foot or more 
across the extended legs. The females have much smaller and shorter legs and comparatively 
weak claws."' 

The Spider Crabs are used as bait along the Middle Atlantic States, and probably elsewhere, 
within their range. 

The Kelp Crab — Epialtus productus, Eandall. 

The Kelp Crab of the Pacific coast is " easily recognized by its smooth quadrate carapax, with 
two distinct teeth on either side. It is the most common maioid Crab on the coast of California 
and Oregon, and is usually found among seaweeds on rocks, just below low-water mark. Its color 
is olivaceous when alive.'" 

This Crab is occasionally taken for food by the natives along the coast, but apparently has not 
yet found its way into the San Francisco markets. It has been especially recorded from Puget 
Sound, the mouth of the Columbia Eiver, the Farallone Islands, Tomales Bay, entrance to San 
Francisco Bay, and Monterey. 

The Eed Eock Crab — Echidnoceros setimanus, Stimpson. 

This is quite a large and very ornamental red Crab, which is not eaten, but is occasionally 
sold in the San Francisco markets as a curiosity. It is procured in moderately deep water about 
the FaraUone Islands, which lie a short distance off the coast at San Francisco, California. The 
body of adult specimens measures about ten inches both in length and breadth, and the weight 
of such specimens is between six and seven pounds. The carapax is convex and exceedingly 
uneven, being covered with large tubercles and granules. The front and lateral margins on each 
side bear about eight principal teeth, and the beak is four lobed. The right claw is much larger 
than the left, and both are covered with tufts of hair, and armed with teeth and tubercles. The 

•Vineyard Sound Report, p. 368. 1871-'73. 

'Stimpson : Joum. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., ti, p. 457, 1857. 



THE HERMIT CRABS. 779 

ground color of the body is vermilion, the granules and spines being generally of a deep bine or 
purple ; the entire carapax is covered with minute bristles. According to Dr. William Stimpson, 
■who wrote coucerniug this Crab in 1857, specimens of this species then readily sold in the San 
Francisco market for five and ten dollars each. A certain demand for them still continues, but 
thej' are apparently brought to market only occasionally. 

The Sand Bug — Hippa talpoida. Say. 

This is rather an odd species of Crab, related to the Hermit Crabs, from which, however, it 
diifers greatly in appearance. The body is oval in outline and more than half as broad as long, 
the sides forming a nearly regular curve. The upper part of the body, formed mostly of the 
cephalo-thorax, is convex and rather plain, giving a decidedly bug-like appearance to the 
creature, as suggested by its common name. The tail, which is long and broad, is pressed ui) 
against the under surface of the body, reaching nearly to the front. The eyes aro minute and 
placed at the ends of long, slender peduncles ; the i>rincipal antennae are about as long as the 
carapax, and are curved and strongly plumose. 

"This species burrows like a mole, head first, instead of backward. It can also swim quite 
actively, and is sometimes found swimming about in the pools left^^on the flats at low water. It 
■is occasionally dug out of the sand at low-water mark, and^'iSoften thrown up by the waves on 
sand-beaches, but it seems to live in shallow water on sandy bottoms in great numbers, for in 
.seining on one of the sand-beaches near Wood's Holl for small fishes, a large quantity of this 
species was taken. Its color is yellowish-white, tinged with purple on the back. It is one of the 
favorite articles of food of many fishes. Mr. Smith found the young abundant at Fire Island, 
near high water, burrowing in the sand. This species is still more abundant farther south." ' 

The Sand Bug ranges from Cape Cod to Florida, but is much more abundant toward the 
South than at the North. On the New Jersey coast, and probably at other places farther south, it 
is used by the fishermen as bait. It is frequently called by them the " Bait Bug." 

►The Hermit Crabs — Eupagxjrus pollicaris, Stimpson ; Bupagurus bernhardus, Brandt ; 
Etjpagxtkus longicarpus, Stimpson ; and allied species. 

There are numerous species of Hermit Crabs living upon our coast, in all depths from the 
shore down to several hundred fathoms. Three species which are of large enough size to be 
considered as desirable for bait occur, however, in localities where they might be easily taken by 
the fishermen. One of the species, Eupagurus bernhardus, is frequently used for that purpose in 
England, and could as well be utilized here. The other two species, living in shallow water, are 
E. pollicaris and E. longicarpus. E. bernhardus ranges from Cape Cod northward, and from 
low- water mark to depths of fifty fathoms and more. E. pollicaris ranges from Massachusetts to 
Florida, and occurs at low-water mark, but is more abundant on the rocky and shelly bottoms of 
the bays and sounds, and upon oyster-beds. E. longicarpus ranges from Massachusetts Bay to 
the Gulf of Mexico, and from between tide levels to a depth of ten fathoms. 

The Hermit Crabs protect the hinder, soft portion of their bodies in any empty Gasteropod 
shell of sufficient .size which is obtainable, carrying this shell upon their back. They move about 
very actively and are very pugnacious. Their savage dispositions toward each other has earned 
for them, in England, the name ot " Soldier Crabs," but both in Europe and this country they are 
generally termed " Hermits." 

' Veerill : Vineyard Sound Report, p. 339, 1871-'72. 



780 li^ATUEAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

JH. longicarpus is smaller than either of the other species, but is more of a littoral species, and 
therefore, as a rule, more easily obtainable. 

A fourth species, U. puheseens, miglit be added to our list of available Hermit Crabs, but it is 
generally limited to deeper water than the others. It ranges from New Jersey to Greenland, but 
south of Casco Bay, Maine, has not been found as high up as the level of low tide. In Casco Bay 
and the Bay of Fundy, it sometimes, but rarely, occurs upon the shore, just below low- water mark. 

"Active and interesting little ' Hermit Crabs,' Eupaf/urus longicarpus, are generally abundant 
in the pools near low water, and concealed in wet places beneath rocks. In the pools they may 
be seen actively running about, carrying upon their backs the dead shell of some small Gasteropod, 
most commonly Anaehis avara or Ilyanassa obsolcta, thougli all the small spiral shells are used in 
this way. They are very pugnacious and nearly always ready for a fight when two happen to 
meet, but they are also great cowards, and very likely each, after the first onset, will instantly 
retreat into his shell, closing the aperture closely with the large claws. They use thejr long, 
slender antennfe very efSciently as organs of feeling, and show great wariness in all their actions. 
The hinder part of the body is soft, with a thin skin, and one-sided in structure, so as to fit into 
the borrowed shells, while near the end there are appendages which are formed into hook like 
organs, by which they hold themselves securely in their houses, for these spiral shells serve them 
both for shields and dwellings. This species also occurs in vast numbers among the eel-grass, both 
in the estuaries and in the sounds and bays, and is also frequent on nearly all other kinds of 
bottoms in the sounds. It is a favorite article of food for many of the fishes, for they swallow it 
shell and all. A much larger species, belonging to the same genus, but having much shorter and 
thicker claws {Eupagurus pollicaris), is also found occasionally under the rocks at low water, but 
it is much more common on rocky and shelly bottoms in the sounds and bays. Its habits are 
otherwise similar to the small one, but it occupies much larger shells, such as those of Lunatia 
lieros, Fulgur earica, &c. This large species is devoured by the sharks and sting-rays." 

223. THE LOBSTERS. 
The Spiny Lobster or Eock Lobster— Panulirus interrtjptus, Randall. 

The well-known Spiny Lobster of the European coast, Palimirus vulgaris, is represented 
on the western coast of the United States by a closely allied genus and species, Panulirus 
interruptus. The Spiny Lobster differs from the common Lobster in wanting the large anterior 
claws, the first pair of feet being simple and without pincers, and in having enormously developed 
antenna or feelers, which are very large around at the base, and as long as, or longer than, the 
body. The gills are similar in structure to those of the true Lobster, but number twenty-one on 
each side. 

The California Spiny Lobster, which, in the region where it occurs, is often called simply 
"Lobster" or "Cray-fish," attains a total length of fourteen inches, the carapax in adult 
individuals measuring as much as five inches. Average-sized individuals weigh from three and 
one-half to four pounds. One specimen weighing eleven and one-half pounds has been recorded 
from Santa Barbara, but very large specimens are now rarely taken in that locality. It ranges 
southward from Point Conception, California, the most northern point from which it has been 
recorded being San Luis Obispo. At this place it is rare, but at Santa Barbara and to the 
southward from there it is very common. These Lobsters generally inhabit rocky ledges. In the 
winter they remain in deep water among the kelp, and are captured in lobster-pots; in the 

' Vkbeill: Vineyard Sound Report, p. 313, 1871-'72. 



THE AMEEICAN LOBSTER. 781 

summer they move into shallower water, and are taken by means of dip nets. The best bait for 
the traps is fresh fish, but any flesh will answer for this purpose. The spawning season for the 
Spiny Lobster is the early spring, when they are found in abundance close to the shore.- At this 
time they are less fat than at others, and are not considered as good eating; some even regard 
them as unwholesome at the spawning time, but nevertheless they are eaten more or less 
continuously through the entire year. When abundant near the shore, catches aggregating five 
hundred pounds have been made by a single person in the short space of two hours. They are 
not as abundant now as formerly in the places where they are most extensively taken as food, 
this having resulted from ovei fishing, especially during the spawning season. There is, therefore, 
great danger of the species becoming exterminated, unless some stringent laws are framed to 
protect them. 

« 224. THE AMERICAN LOBSTER— HOMARUS AMERICANUS, Milne-Edwards. 

Inteodxjction.— Although the Lobster is one of the most important of our food inverte- 
brates, careful observations regarding its natural history, and especially its breeding habits, 
rate of growth, etc., have been strangely neglected. This fact is greatly to be deplored, 
considering that the Lobster has recently become the subject of important legislation by the 
several States which it inhabits, and that its cultivation by artificial means has been frequently 
attempted. It is now an undisputed fact that the abundance, as well as the average size, of 
Lobsters has greatly decreased in our shallow-water areas during the past twenty to thirty years, 
thereby forcing the lobster fishermen to resort to deeper water, and increasing the hardships of 
their profession. The question has, therefore, very naturally arisen as to whether this continued 
decrease can in any way be checked either by the enactment of proper protective laws, or by means 
of artificial propagation. Laws for the ])rotection of the Lobster have been passed by all the 
States interested in this fishery, but their want of uniformity and the difficulty of enforcing them 
have diminished the benefits which it was hoped might result. The success attending the artificial 
breeding of several of our food- fishes has inspired the hope that similar methods might succeed 
with regard to the Lobster, and many persons are now awaiting with interest the results of 
experiments in that direction. It is very certain, however, that the breeding of Lobsters can 
never be successfully carried on until we have become acquainted with at least the main features 
of their natural history. The artificial cultivation of animals can only progress through the 
fulfillment of natural laws, which must be thorongbly understood before they can be properly 
applied. As it is, however, the would-be experimenter in the matter of lobster-breeding must 
still follow a very uncertain pathway, meeting with numerous failures which previous studies 

might have averted. 

To assist in a small way toward overcoming this difficulty, and as a preliminary to the 
industrial report which will appear hereafter, the author has brought together the following few 
disconnected popular notes, taken in part from published works, but mainly derived from the 
observations of intelligent lobster fishermen and dealers, who have always cheerfully responded 
when called upon for information. It is hoped that the meagerness of these notes will act as an 
incentive to observers in this line of research. 

Eelations and stkucture of the Lobster.— The Lobster belongs to the highest group 
of the Crustacea, the so-called Decapoda, or ten-footed crustaceans, which group is again divided 
into the Brachyura, or short-tailed Decapods (true Crabs), the Anomoura (Hermit Crabs, etc.), and 
the Ma&roura, or long-tailed Decapods (Lobsters and Shrimps). The members of the first group 



782 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

range higher in organization than those of the two latter, and the Lobster must, therefore, be 
regarded as lower in the scale of being than our common Crab. 

The Lobsters find some of their nearest allies among the common fresh-water Cray-fish of our 
rivers and small streams, with which they agree structurally in most particulars. The principal 
differences existing between them, beyond size and shape, are such as would be readily overlooked 
by the casual observer. One of the most important is as to the number of gills, of which there are 
twenty perfect ones on each side in the Lobster and only seventeen to eighteen on each side in the 
Cray-fish. Some of the gills also differ in structure in the two groups. The other structural 
differences need not be discussed here, nor do we propose to describe the anatomical peculiarities 
of the Lobster in this connection, as they have been fully treated of in numerous scientific publica- 
tions which are easily obtainable. It will suffice for our pui'pose to pass over in review the 
principal external characteristics. 

The body of the Lobster, as may be readily observed, is made up of two general divisions, an 
anterior one, called the carapax or cephalo-thorax, and covered by a single shell or shield above 
and at the sides, and a posterior one, termed the abdomen, consisting of six segments and a 
terminal flap, or telson. The dividing line between the head and thorax proper, which are both 
contained within the carapax, is indicated on the upper* surface of the carapax by a trans- 
verse, curved groove. Underneath the thoracic portion of the carapax there are five transverse 
segments, corresponding to the pairs of legs, of which the four posterior pairs are subequal in 
size and much smaller than the anterior pair or claws. All of the legs are composed of 
several and an equal number of joints; the two posterior ones terminate in simple points, while 
the two in advance of them end in small claws. The anterior legs are very much enlarged, the 
joints very unequal in size and very unlike in shape, the terminal joint, forming the claw proper, 
being very greatly developed, hard and rugged, and very powerful. Each segment of the 
abdomen or tail also has a pair of appendages on the lower side. In the female, the anterior five 
pairs are small and slender, and constitute the so-called swimmerets, to which the eggs are 
attached after extrusion from the body and during incubation. The appendages of the posterior 
abdominal segment are large, and each terminates in two broad plates which lie at each side of the 
telson. In the male, the anterior pair of abdominal appendages are modified into the stiffened 
styles, by means of which the sex may be easily distinguished. The functions of these different 
appendages correspond with the same in the Cray-fish, which are described as follows by 
Professor Huxley: 

" The Cray-fish swims by the help of its abdomen and the hinder pairs of abdominal limbs ; 
walks by means of the four hinder pairs of thoracic limbs; lays hold of anything to fix itself, or 
to assist in climbing, by the two chelate anterior pairs of these limbs, which are also employed in 
tearing the food seized by the forceps [big clawsj and conveying it to the mouth ; while it seiz(-s 
its prey and defends itself with the forceps." 

On the lower side of the body, in front of the claws, are several i)airs of variously shaped 
small organs, which surround the mouth and subserve mastication. Still farther in front are two 
long feelers or antennae, and two smaller feelers or antenules, and also the two compound eyes, 
situated at the ends of two short, movable stalks. The carapax terminates in front in a sharp, 
spiny, and prominent projection or rostrum, which reaches out between the eyes. The gills are 
situated on each side of the body, just inside of the carapax, in two cavities, called the branchial 
chambers, which open behind, below, and in front, so that the water has free entrance. 

Three species of true Lobsters, constituting the genus Eomarus, are now recognized by 
naturalists. They live exclusively in the sea. The American species, Homarns americamis, in 



SIZE OF THE LOBSTER. 783 

which we are uow interested, is the largest of them all. Next in size, and of equal importance, is 
the European species, Homarus vulgaris, which differs but slightly from oui' own, the rostrum 
being narrower, and bearing teeth only on its upper margin, while in the former species the lower 
margin of the rostrum is also armed with teeth. The third species belongs to the southern hemi- 
sphere and attains a length of only about five inches. It is called Homarus capensis, and inhabits 
the region of the Cape of Good Hope. We are not aware of its being used as food. 

Name. — For a common and widely distributed marine animal, the American Lobster is 
surprisingly free from the long list of vernacular and local names which encumber some of our 
most imijortant industrial fishes, such as the menhaden. The simple term "Lobster" belongs to it 
wherever it occurs, and in only a few rare instances have the fishermen dared to assert their well- 
acknowledged right of adding, through its means, a new word to their already somewhat lengthy 
and interesting vocabulary. On the coast of Rhode Island, Lobsters are sometimes called '' Sea- 
craws," from their resemblance to the fresh-wafer Cray-fish ; and at Nantucket the young Lobster 
is termed "Grass-hopper"; but such names are not much used, nor are they of importance to our 
discussion. 

The different stages during the process of shedding and subsequent hardening of the new 
shell and during spawning are designated by descriptive terms, such as "Black Lobster," "Soft- 
shell," "Berried Lobster," etc., which are described in full further on. 

In and about Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, two varieties of Lobsters are recognized, and 
these are distinguished as " School Lobsters" and "Rock Lobsters," or " Groundholders." 

Decrease in size. — Lobsters occur of all sizes up to about forty pounds weight, but the 
average size of all Lobsters now caught for market is probably not above two pounds weight. 
It is a well-attested fact that the average size, as well as the abundance of Lobsters, has steadily 
decreased from year to year during the past twenty years, and the markets are now supplied with 
a much smaller breed, so to speak, than formerly. Not that Lobsters grow less rapidly at the 
present time than in previous years, or have become in any way dwarfed in size, but the avaricious 
fishing which has been constantly carried on along almost the entire extent of their range has 
caught up nearly all the larger individuals and reduced the bulk of tho.se remaining, suitable for 
market, to near the minimum prescribed by law, and there they will probably remain. Were the 
spawning Lobsters carefully protected, and due respect paid to the laws limiting the size of 
those taken for food, we might expect to find about as many Lobsters now as in any past time, 
though they might average smaller in size; but such, unfortunately, is not the case. 

Just what the decrease in average size has been we have not sufQcient data to determine; 
but it has occurred so recently and has been so marked that no one who is familiar with the facts 
can refuse to acknowledge it. A New Haven correspondent states that the average length of the 
Lobsters sold in the markets there to-day is about ten and one-half inches and the average 
weight about two pounds, against an average length of about thirteen inches and an average 
weight of about three and one-half pounds twenty years ago. A Boston correspondent, who has 
spent much time in studying the lobster question from a practical standpoint, writes that 
"they decreased rapidly until the law was enacted regulating the size of those brought to 
market, the enforcement of which arrested the apparent decrease. I would say here that the 
effect of a law regulating the size of those saved for food is, after a time, to bring a very large 
majority of those offered for sale to about tlie legal limits, and an improvement can only be 
looked for by increasing the limit from time to time." 

Average size at present. — From mauy fishermen and lobster-dealers along the entire 
New England coast we have solicited information as to the average size of Lobsters taken by 



784 NATURAL HISTOEY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

them iu their traps and sold as food, or received at the markets. The replies were numerous, 
and in many cases undoubtedlj' reliable. In four of the principal larger markets the average 
sizes were stated to be as follows, the length given being exclusive of the claws : 

Inches. 

Portland, Maine lOj 

Boston, Massachusetts 11-lli 

New Haven, Connecticnt 10 J 

New York City . 101-15 

The larger Lobsters received at New York probably came from Eastern Maine, and the 
smaller ones from Southern New England. 

According to the fishermen, the average size of Lobsters taken upon certain sections of the 
New England States runs about as follows, the wide range in the figures given in some cases 
resulting from the combining of data from different localities : 

Inches. 

Coast of Maine, Ixom Eastport to Portland 8-15 

New Hampshire 11 

Vicinity of Boston 10-13 

Vineyard Sound to New London, Connecticnt 8-12 

Western Connecticnt : 8-10 J 

The average size is said to be somewhat greater in Eastern than in Western Maine, but even 
at the east the smaller sizes are taken to sell to the canneries. On the coast of Nova Scotia 
Lobsters, at present, run larger than on the coast of Maine. According to Capt. N. E. Atwood, 
small Lobsters are seldom seen at Provincetown, or at least were seldom taken there when the 
lobster fishery was extensively carried on at that place. In an entire smack load there would 
not be half a dozen individuals weighing under two pounds. The average size of Lobsters 
taken iu the traps does not appear to remain the same at any one place throughout the year. In 
many places they are said to run largest during the summer, or from June until the latter part 
of August. This may not hold good, however, for all localities. About Vineyard Sound, Massa- 
chusetts, Lobsters average largest in June, and those taken at that time are called " June " or 
"Sand" Lobsters. They are lighter colored and have thinner shells than those caught the 
remainder of the year. School Lobsters average about the same in size in the same school, but 
the different schools may differ more or less from one another in the average, size of the Lobsters 
composing them, and some at times consist mostly of one sex and others of the opposite sex. 

Large Lobsters. — The male-Lobsters are said, as a rule, to attain the largest size, aud iu 
most localities they average larger than the females. In some few places, however, we are 
informed that the females average largest, and where this occurs it may possibly result from 
the greater protection accorded the latter sex. • A correspondent at Provincetown, Massachu- 
setts, estimates that the larger females attain there a length of about fifteen to sixteen inches, 
and the larger males about eighteen to twenty-two inches. Although large Lobsters have been 
mostly exterminated from our coast, we still occasionally hear of the capture of individuals of 
unusual size. From fishermen we have obtained information regarding three monster individuals, 
weighing respectively thirty-five, thirty-eight, aud forty pounds each, but uo notice as to the 
year when they were taken. Lobsters of over forty pounds weight have been recorded, but we 
are inclined to look upon these giants with some distrust, as we cannot ascertain that any of them 
were actually weighed. Prom more reliable sources we learn that sixteen to twenty-five pound 
Lobsters, although by no means common, have been, and still are, occasionally found. They do 
not seem to have been confined to any one part of the coast, as they are recorded all the way 
frm B astp ort, Maine, to New Jersey. 



COLOR OF THE LOBSTEE. 785 

Much of the information regardiug large Lobsters was obtained from lobster-dealers, who 
have had them for sale in their markets. A dealer at New Haven states that twenty years ago 
twelve to sixteen pound Lobsters were common, but during the past ten years a Lobster weighing 
ten i)0unds has been rarely seen. A Boston dealer writes that during the past season (1880) he 
has received and sold several Lobsters weighing from twelve to fifteen pounds each. On the 
Nova Scotia coast, ten-pound Lobsters are said to be common now. The dimensions of these 
heavy individuals are seldom given. A specimen taken at Boothbay, Maine, and said to weigh 
between thirty and forty pounds, had such large claws that the meat from one of them was equal 
to that of an entire ordinary-sized Lobster. Another specimen, weighing thirty-five pounds, had 
a length of four feet. Seventeen to twenty-four pound Lobsters are stated to measure from three 
to three and one-half feet long, and ten-pounders from twenty to twenty-four inches. A nineteen- 
pound Lobster, shipped from Eastport, in 1875, measured three feet five inches in length, the 
claws being eighteen inches long and eight inches across. 

Large Lobsters on the coast of England. — Although the European Lobster never 
attains the extreme size of the American, still large individuals are occasionally met with. Mr. 
Frank Buckland makes the following records of large Lobsters observed on the coast of the 
British Islands : " The deeper the water and the farther from the shore, the larger are the Lobsters. 
The Skye and the Orkney Lobsters are probably the largest in the British Islands. At St. 
Mawe's we heard of two Lobsters, one ten pounds and the other nine and three-fourths pounds, 
and at Durgan and Sennen of one of thirteen pounds. A large Lobster Mas caught in a large 
earthenware pot at Gosport in 1870; he weighed eight pounds ten ounces. In May, 1875, a 
Lobster, weight twelve pounds, was found at Saint's Bay, Guernsey." Another specimen caught 
at Hamble, near Southampton, was said to have weighed fourteen pounds. 

Color. — The color of the Lobster is so varied as to almost defy accurate description, even 
in single individuals. It may be described in a general way as consisting of a groundwork of 
yellow or yellowish-red, covered with spots or mottlings of green, or more rarely blue. The 
mottlings are most numerous and dense upon the back, while on the sides of the carapax and 
lower surfaces of the claws the yellow generally predominates. Along the lower edge of the 
carapax, on each side, there is quite a broad marginal band of blue or bluish coloration, which 
also extends a short distance up the posterior margin of the carapax. Just above this band, 
which has a distinctly defined edge, the yellow (ranging in iutensitj- from a light yellow to a deep 
orange) begins, and may be nearly plaiu for quite a breadth, or become at once covered with 
roundish spots of dark green or greenish or brownish olive, which increase in size and become 
more closely placed toward the dorsal surface, where they overlap to such an extent that the 
yellow seldom shows through. This combination frequently produces a very dark coloration on 
the back, which sometimes appears as a greenish- black. Often the entire carapax and abdomen 
assume a very dark shade over nearly all the sides as well as back. Sometimes the spots are 
fewer in number than ordinary and stand apart from one another, even on the back, producing 
the so-called " Spotted Lobsters." The green color is often replaced by different shades of blue. 
Occasionally a reddish coloration will predominate over the entire carapax. The rostrum is olive 
green, the spines it bears being of a deep, rich red. The abdomen corresponds in markings with 
the carapax. The depressed line running along the center of the back of the carapax is distinctly 
marked, being generally dark green. The tail-flaps are bordered along their posterior margins by 
a band of dark olive brown. 

The upper surface of the big claws has a decidedly reddish or orange cast, the color deep- 
CTiing towards the ends, which are a very deep red, fading out to a whitish color just at the tii)8. 
50 P 



786 NATURAL HISTOET OF AQUATIC AJ!fIMALS. 

Over this groundwork the outer margin of the claw has a broad banding of dark olive brown or 
black, and numerous large spots of the same color cover more or less of the remaining surface, 
The under sides of the large claws are almost always an orange of variable intensity, the terminal 
joints being more intense than the inner ones, which are more or less marked with green or blue. 
The other legs are much lighter below than the claws, with green or blue markings, especially' 
above and at the ends of the joints. The tips end in deep orange red, while the bunches of hairs 
which ornament them and other parts of the body are almost a ruby red, when the specimen has 
just been taken from the water. The soft skin covering the under surface of the abdomen, and 
the swimmerets are of a faint pinkish color, dne to the presence of multitudes of very minute reid. 
spots. 

These color variations of Lobsters probably dejiend, to a certain extent, upon the character 
or color of the bottom inhabited by them, but some of the varieties cannot be accounted for in 
that manner. The character of their food may also have some influence in the matter. Lobsters 
obtained from rocky bottoms more or less covered with sea weeds, and from dark grassy bottoms, 
are said to be generally much darker in color than those from sandy bottoms, and also to average 
shorter in proportion to their weight. Lobsters from open sandy bottoms are not only lighter in 
color, but also api)ear to be, usually, brighter. We have several recorded instances of red Lobsters 
from sandy bottoms, some of the specimens examined having been nearly as red as Lobsters 
ordinarily are after boiling. Nearly white Lobsters also occur occasionally in similar situations, 
One of the most curious color varieties we ever saw had numerous round, bright yellow spots, 
ranging in size from very small to about half an inch in diameter, scattered without order over 
the entire body. It is well known to all consumers of Lobsters that the shell of these animals 
quickly changes to a nearly uniform bright-red color on boiling. 

DiSTEiBUTiON — Geograp ical eange. — The American Lobster ranges along the Atlantic 
coast from Delaware to Labrador, and has even been found as far south as the northeastern corner 
of Virginia. A correspondent at Johnsontown, Virginia, informs us that he has seen two or three 
stragglers taken in that neighborhood, and he believes them to have wandered naturally to that 
far southern limit, as he cannot account for their being carried there through the agency of man 
The vicinity of the Delaware breakwater can be regarded with greater certainty as their southern 
limit, for there they occur in moderate abundance, and are occasionally fished for with lobster- 
pots. They are also sometimes taken on the fishing banks oft' Cape Henlopen and Cape May. 
The stonework of the Delaware breakwater seems, however, to form quite an attractive place for 
them at present, tliough previous to its construction they may not have existed there at all. They 
may be caught in the immediate vicinity of the breakwater in lobster-pots, and are also incidentally 
taken in gill-nets arid on hand-lines, but the fishery is not carried on regularly, mainly on account 
of their scarcity, and partly from the fact that the pots are liable to be disturbed by the anchors 
of vessels seeking the protection of the breakwater. Mr. Burbage, of Ocean View, Delaware, 
states that he has occasionally seen small Lobsters in the surf along the beach, near Indian Eiver 
Inlet. 

Along the New Jersey coast, Lobsters have been recorded from a few places, but are no- 
where very abundant. A fisherman of long experience about Cape May writes that he has never 
seen Lobsters in that region. Off Monmouth County they occur near to and south of Nave- 
sink. At Long Branch and Atlantic City small amounts are taken annually for local consump- 
tion and for shii)ment to New York and Philadelphia. Lobsters are more plentiful on a fishing 
ledge of rocks lying a short distance oft" Long Branch, and those found near the shore are 
supposed to be summer visitants from this locality. Several instances of large Lobsters are 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE LOBSTEE. 787 

recorded from this region— two in particular from off Atlantic City, weighing twenty and twenty- 
one pounds each. 

After passing the New Jersey coast, we soon come to the region where Lobsters are more 
continuously abundant. At one time they were common in New York Bay, but the establishment 
there of large factories, which pollute the waters, has almost exterminated them and dwarfed the 
size of those remaining. Throughout Long Island Sound, Lobsters are moderately abundant, 
and are fished for at several localities. They become much more plentiful in the neighborhood 
of Fisher's Island, Block Island, Montauk Point, the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard, 
and Neman's Land, all of which regions furnish a very important summer fishery. Nearly all 
favorable localities on the Massachusetts coast abound in Lobsters, though overfishing has 
nearly depleted some sections, as at Provincetown. New Hampshire supports a limited lobster 

fishery. 

The Maine coast excels all others of the States in the abundance of Lobsters, which are more 
or less uniformly distributed from Portland to Eastport, some localities, however, being more 
favorable to their existence than others. The fishery for this State is much greater than for all 
the other States combined, Massachusetts ranking next. 

The Provincial coast, or at least the Nova Scotian part of it, is said to be more prolific in 
Lobsters than Maine, though the fishery there is not of as long standing. We have little data as 
to the relative abundance of Lobsters on the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts, but they are 
apparently less common than to the south. 

Bathymeteical range.— The Lobster ranges in depth from about low-water mark to at 
least eighty fathoms, and the fishery is regularly carried on in some localities in depths of fifty to 
sixty fathoms, especially during the winter. At Eastport and elsewhere on the Maine coast, 
in the summer, they are occasionally left upon the shore by the receding tide, either concealed 
under stones and seaweeds or partly buried in the sand. During the same season they may 
also be frequently seen about the wharves of some of the Maine sea-coast towns, attracted 
there by the refuse thrown over from the canneries. Twenty to thirty years ago, or before 
the fishery had made much advancement, Lobsters were of much more common occurrence 
in the littoral zone, and were often gaffed from the shore by the early fishermen. Even to-day, 
in some places, the pots are set in such shallow water that they are exposed at low tide. 
Several accounts of this shore fishery have been reserved for the industrial portion of the 

present report. 

As explained elsewhere, Lobsters move towards the shore in summer, and away from it, or 
into deeper water, on the approach of cold weather. During the principal fishing season, which 
includes the warmer half of the year, they are most abundant in depths of a very few to about 
fifteen or twenty fathoms, and it is within these depths that the pots are mainly set. 

Off-shoee RANGE.-Lobsters have been recorded from the fishing banks off Nova Scotia, 
from the fishing banks and ledges of the Gulf of Maine, such as Jeffrey's Ledge and Cashe's 
Ledge, and from other more southern off-shore banks. They have also been taken from the 
stomachs of cod caught on George's Banks. There is, however, no off-shore lobster fishery. 

Fresh and brackish WATER.-Lobsters will not live in fresh or brackish water, although 
it is an unsettled question as to whether a slight admixture of fresh water is harmful to them or 
not. They are caught M the mouths of large rivers where the water is decidedly brackish on top, 
but when placed in surface cars at the same localities they are said to quickly perish, indicating 
that the water must be much more salt at the bottom. 

CHARACTER OF THE BOTTOM.-Lobsters prefer rocky, gravelly, and sandy bottoms, and, 



788 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

in shoal waters, especially those which are more or less covered with growths of the larger 
seaweeds. Vegetation is not, however, essential to their well-being, for they live on the barren 
sands, as at Provincetown, C&pe Cod, and on rocky, stony, and hard bottoms, wherever they 
can find food. At the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, they are said to occasionally occur on the 
mud, and this fact is recorded of them in other localities. On rocky bottoms they remain 
more or 'less concealed under and among the rocks and stones, watching for their prey. In 
the Bay of Fundy and elsewhere the.y are often seen lurking under stones at low water, 
and about the wharves. The lobster-pots are generally set upon gravelly and sandy bottoms. 
In many localities the young, under eight or ten inches long, are often abundant in shallow 
coves or bays, which are more or less filled up with kelp and other large seaweeds. In such 
places as these they have been commonly taken in the beam trawl used by the United States 
Fish Commission for bottom fish, in Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, and Vineyard 
Sound. One cause assigned for the great decrease in the abundance of Lobsters in Plymouth 
Bay, Massachusetts, is the raking over of the rocky bottom for Irish moss, which industry is 
carried on to a very great extent, thereby uncovering and destroying the young and damaging 
their grounds. 

MiaKATiONS. — The Lobsters inhabiting the shoaler grounds in summer move into deeper 
water, as a rule, on the approach of cold weather, and return again in the spring. In some 
localities, however, a few Lobsters are said to remain in moderately shoal water the entire year, 
especially toward the south. But all Lobsters do not leave their deeper abiding places in summer, 
for they appear to occur in greater or less abundance in all depths at all seasons. The extent of 
the fall migrations is not very great, but the Lobsters move ofi' beyond the influence of the extreme 
cold into slightly deeper water, generally not far away, where the temperature remains milder 
and more uniform. Those who fish for Lobsters in the winter have, therefore, to set their pots at 
a greater distance from land than in the summer, but the winter fishery is of slight importance 
compared with the summer. 

Lobsters are said to approach the shores of Nova Scotia in May and to recede from them in 
November, their winter quarters being in depths of ten to forty-five fiithoms. In the summer 
they are abundant close to shore. At the mouth of the Bay of Fundy they generally come into 
shoal water in April, and move off again in October or November. During the summer 
months they abound under the shelter of overhanging rocks and among the kelp near shore. 
About five or six weeks are taken up by these migrations. They do not move in a body, but 
approach and recede gradually, as the temperature of the water changes. Throughout the coast 
of Maine the spring and fall migrations are about the same, but vary more or less according to 
the character and temperature of the different seiisons. In the summer, they enter the numerous 
bays and indentations of the coast line, which they leave again in the fall. They leave the 
shallow waters of the coast of New Hampshire in December or November, and can be caught 
during the entire winter in depths of twenty fathoms. Boston Harbor has always been famous 
as a fishing ground for Lobsters, but in the fall it is completely deserted by these crustaceans, 
which repair to the deeper waters of Massachusetts Bay, where a winter fishery can be carried 
on. A sudden cold spell is said to send them oft' rapidly, and they have been known to entirely 
disappear from shoal water in the course of a day or two. Lobster fishing ceases at Province- 
town, Cape Cod, the latter part of September, as the Lobsters become scarce after that time. In 
Vineyard Sound the fall migrations extend into the deeper holes not far distant from the summer 
grounds, but some iudividuals remain in comparatively shallow water the entire year. The same 
is true of Long Island Sound, where Lobsters do not move far from their summer haunts, but 



MALE AND FEMALE LOBSTERS. 789 

merely st-ek the protection of deeper water, wherever they can find it. The season generally lasts 
from Auril to October. Off New Haven, Connecticut, Lobsters are occasionally taken in winter, 
on the deeper oyster banks, while dredging for oysters. 

Schooling.— Although Lobsters do not appear to school in the same manner as some 
fishes, still they often congregate in larger or smaller moving bodies, which travel from place 
to place, as though in search of food. On the central and southern New England coasts, 
especially about Martha's Vineyard and Noman's Land, two kinds of Lobsters are recognized 
by most fishermen— "School Lobsters," and "Eock Lobsters" or "Ground holders." The latter 
are said to remain more or less continuously in one place during the entire fishing season, while 
the former are migratory and uncertain in their movements. These two kinds of Lobsters are 
also stated to ditfer more or less from one another in appearance, especially as regards color, and 
the Rock Lobsters are supposed to average heavier than the School Lobsters, when of the same 
lengths. To what extent this habit of schooling takes place we have had no means of ascertain- 
ing, but for a short period during the spring and fall migrations it is probably more common 
than at other times. During the regular summer movements, the larger or stronger Lobsters 
aie said to lead the schools, and the maimed or crippled ones to straggle on behind. The 
schools are apparently made up more or less of Lobsters of uniform size, as the fishermen will 
often catch the same sized Lobsters in their traps for a certain period, after which this size dis- 
appears and another takes its place. These changes are said to occur suddenly, and during 
some years quite frequently. 

The strongest proof of the schooling of Lobsters is the fact that they wiU suddenly appear 
in great numbers in a region where none have been caught for several days, and as suddenly 
disappear therefrom without apparent cause. It is possible that the habit of schooling arises 
solely from the necessity of migrating, and that, while they ordinarily live more or less scattered 
over' good feeding bottoms, yet when their common feeding ground becomes exhausted, or the 
temperature too severe, they are impelled to desert it in a body for some other more favorable 

locality. 

Association of males and females.— The male and female Lobsters generally associate 
together in the same places, in about equal proportions; but some curious exceptions to this rule 
have been recorded. Capt. N. E. Atwood, of Provincetown, Massachusetts, writing in 1866, states 
that at that time about ninety per cent, of all the Lobsters taken at Cape Cod were females, while 
to the northward of Plymouth, on the west side of Massachusetts Bay, seventy-five per cent, of 
all those captured were males. In and about Narragansett Bay, the fishermen claim that, during 
July and August, about seven-eighths of the Lobsters taken are females, whUe during the balance 
of the season the two sexes are about equally abundant. At Eastport, Maine, it is said that, as 
a rule, more male Lobsters are taken than females. The above statements must be taken with 
some grains "of allowance, from the tact that the fishermen may not always be able to readily 
distinguish between the two sexes, especially in the case of females not bearing eggs externally. 
The rude and hasty manner in which they handle Lobsters would also preclude their discriminating 
between the sexes with certainty, even though they were well acquainted with their anatcancal 
differences. Prof. S. L Smith examined quantities of Lobsters in the Provincetown market, 
on two occasions, in August and September, 1872, without finding any decided differences ,n 
the number of males and females. At Eastport, Maine, his examinations were made with even 
more thoroughness, and with the same result. Professor Verrill also states that he has found 
the males and females about equally abundant in market supplies received from New Lon- 
don, Stonington, and Waterford, Connecticut. It is possible that, at some seasons, or under 



790 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

certain conditions the males and females may live more or less apart from one another, but 
the observations of scientific men indicate that this separation is not long continued, if it 
occurs at all. 

Mr. S. M. Johnson, of Boston, has recently assured us that the great preponderance of 
females still holds true in the case of the Cape Cod region. Of the supplies received from there 
at Boston, during the summer months, he feels certain, from long-continued observations, that 
nearly if not quite ninety per cent, are females, and about seven-eighths of these bear spawn 
externally. The section of coast from which these Lobsters are obtained extends along the outer 
side of Cape Cod, from off Highland Light to Wood End Light. The Lobsters examined at 
Provincetown, by Prof. S. I. Smith, in 1872, may have come from the bay side of Cape Cod, whence 
Provincetown is supposed to receive its supplies for home consumption. The females may resort 
to the shallow waters of the outer side of the cape to spawn during the season when the fishery 
is carried on there, and this fact, if true, would readily account for their great abundance in that 
region, as has been noticed for so long a time. The males and females approach and recede from 
the shore together in the fall and spring. 

Winter habits. — Fishermen generally agree that Lobsters do not trap as readily in the 
winter as in the summer, even though the pots are set on what are supposed to be their winter 
grounds. The reason assigned for this is that they are not as eager for food nor as active in 
their movements in cold weather as in warm weather. This may be true to a great extent, but 
we think it is equally probable that they are scattered over broader areas in the winter, 
and their haunts are not as easily found. Evidence in proof of this idea has been recently 
furnished us by a prominent Eastern dealer, who has kept large quantities of Lobsters in confine- 
ment for the winter trade. The bottom of the area given up to their keeping is very muddy, and 
the surface of the water sometimes freezes over to a depth of twenty-two inches. On the 
approach of cold weather the Lobsters bury themselves in the mud, leaving only the long 
antennae, the eyes, the tips of the claws, and ijerhaps a small portion of the front of the carapax, 
projecting above it. Over some parts of the inclosure the water is so shallow that the exposed 
appendages can be readily seen from the surface. In these positions the Lobsters lie, presumably 
all winter, unless disturbed, but whether or not they feed regularly has not been observed. If, 
however, a hoop-net, properly baited, is lowered in front of them, they are not slow to enter it, 
plainly indicating that they are still attracted by the bait, and it is just the same even after the 
surface of the water has become a sheet of ice. As the ice breaks up toward spring, and after- 
ward, while the drift ice still remains in this area, the Lobsters become more timid and cannot be 
caught. They also seem to > le easily frightened at loud noises, and perhaps retire deeper into the 
mud, for bait appears to have no attraction for them at such times. It is not possible, however, 
that they could be influenced in this manner in deeper water. 

It is a question which may never be definitely decided, whether Lobsters bury themselves in 
the same manner in deep water as near shore. The temperature there would undoubtedly remain 
more favorable to them than in shallow water, but many of those caught in the pots in winter are 
r^ore or less covered with mud. 

Movements. — Lobsters hold quite closely to the bottom and seldom leave it, unless it may 
be to escai^e an enemy, when they have been seen to execute a sort of swimming movement 
backward, by means of their tail, darting up from the bottom, but quickly settling down again. 
In moving about, they seem to skim over the bottom, using their four posterior pairs of feet, 
the anterior pair, or big claws, being held rigidly out in front of them, with the tips pointing 
inward and not far apart. The tail is also spread out and well expanded at the same time. The 



GROWTH OF THE LOBSTER. 791 

movemeuts of Lobsters can be easily stadied in the shallow cars in which they are kept tor 
market, providing there are not too many of them, as the bottom of the car should not be covered. 
Their actions appear easy and graceful, and their swimming powers may be tested by dipping 
them out with a scoop-net and allowing them to fall back again. If allowed to fall in tail foremost, 
a gentle flap or two of the tail is sufflcient to give the body the proper slope in the water so that 
in sinking it falls obliquely and reaches bottom by a more gradual motion than would be the case 
if it fell directly downward. During the downward movement the tail may or may not be kept in 
motion. But in case the specimen is thrown in head first or sidewise, if it be in good, lively 
condition, it may give several vigorous flaps of the tail to right itself, and even swim off in one 
direction or another for a distance of several feet before settling down as in the former case. As a 
rule, however, the Lobster must be regarded as a bottom animal, exercising its power of swimming 
only in cases of emergency. 

We have made the above remarks to correct the current impression among many people that 
the Lobster is a free swimmer and moves about in schools like many species of fish. For this 
belief there is no foundation in fact. 

Growth, shedding, etc.— Soft-shelled Lobsters occur at all seasons of the year, but appear 
to be much less common in the winter than in the summer. The period of their greatest abundance 
is from June to September or October. There is, therefore, no strictly defined shedding period, 
and no possibility of determining, from present data, how often Lobsters shed. The shedding is 
connected with the growth of the individual, and when the body has attained such an increased 
volume that the hard covering or shell can no longer contain it, the latter breaks open, and the 
Lobster comes forth in a soft state, and considerably enlarged. The possibility, therefore, exists 
that in good feeding regions Lobsters may shed more frequently than in poor ones, for in the 
former it is natural to suppose that the growth would be more rapid than in the latter. Absolutely 
nothing is known, however, regarding this fact, and we must await future observations before 
generalizing. During the younger stages, shedding goes on quite rapidly, but as the Lobster 
increases in age it is probable that the shedding periods become much less frequent, and in very 
old individuals may cease altogether. There is, however, no conclusive evidence to prove that 
Lobsters ever attain a limit in size beyond which there is no further growth. Large individuals 
are occasionally taken with a very thick and heavy shell so scarred and worn as to indicate a 
prolonged and severe service. At times, the edges and angles of the shell and the exposed 
prominences of the claws are completely worn away. Large Barnacles are often found upon the 
shells of large Lobsters, and this fact is frequently cited as evidence that the Lobster had ceased 
shedding, or at least had not shed for several seasons. But after having examined the slates 
used by the United States Fish Commission as collectors for oyster spat, in Chesapeake Bay, in 
1S80, the writer can no longer regard this proof as very convincing. In the course of a month or 
two the common Barnacle of that region, a species of BaUnus, which had attached itself to the 
slates in much greater abundance than the oysters, had attained a diameter of nearly an inch and 
gave promise of growing much larger in a short space of time. 

The process of shedding is very interesting, and has been frequently witnessed, althougli it 
has never been minutely described by a competent observer. The following account has been 
furnished us by Mr. S. M. Johnson, of Boston. As a preliminary, the carapax generally, but by 
no means always, splits lengthwise along the middle of the back, often with a clean cut, quite to 
the rostrum. Otherwise, the carapax merely separates widely from the abdomen, on the upper 
side. The abdominal segments are the first to be withdrawn from their hard investment, ' and 
' This is contrary to -what happens in the fresh-water Cray-fish. 



792 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

as soon as they are free they are used in extricating the anterior portion of the body. The entire 
process requires a great amount of violent struggling and pulling, the claws occasioning the 
greatest difficulty, from being so much larger near the tips than at the base. Their fleshy 
portion, however, becomes somewhat soft and flabby so as to be easily extensible, and capable of 
being compressed down to a smaller diameter. The basal joint, called the thimble by fishermen, 
breaks lengthwise across the narrowest side, where a groove naturally exists, and the base of 
the next succeeding joint splits in the same way. The remainder of this second joint, and the 
following larger one, are comi5ressed and flattened ui^on the upper or inner side, where the 
shell is thinner than elsewhere, the thin area being oval in outline, distinctly marked off from 
the surrounding surface, and more or less marked with irregular, elongate, depressed lines. 
Preparatory to shedding, this area, by the absorption of certain of its elements, becomes a thin, 
soft, and extensible membrane, or may be entirely absorbed away. No other hinderances lie in 
the way of the passage of the claws proper, which can be sufQciently compressed to work through 
the next joint above them, although the latter remains hard and firm. 

The layer of skin which is to form the new shell begins to take on its distinctive character 
before the old one is cast, but does not harden to any extent. In this state it assumes a dark- 
green color and gives rise to the common fishermen's term of " Black Lobster," which is used to 
designate the Shedders. As the hard shell is cast, the soft skin exposed presents a velvet-like 
surface. The process of shedding goes on rajiidly, as often happens in lobster-cars where the 
animals have been placed awaiting shipment to mai-ket. Lobsters which have had no marked 
indications of shedding, when placed in the cars, have cast their coat within a day or two 
afterwards. The hardening of the new shell also progresses rapidly. On many Lobsters the 
newly forming shell can be seen inside ot the old one, and more or less closely adhering to it. 
It appears like a thin, semi-transparent, gelatinous lining of the old shell, and in some instances 
can be readily peeled off from it. Soft-shell Lobsters are sometimes called "Cullings," and those 
in which the new shell has become slightly hardened are named " Paper-shells." 

Just before and after shedding. Lobsters remain quiet, almost dormant, and more or less 
concealed under stones or among seaweeds. Statements differ as to whether Lobsters seek 
food while in the soft shell state. They are said to be captured in the traps at times, often 
in great numbers; but as the food ordinarily preferred by them, and especially the baitings 
of the traps, require hard surfaces for their mastication, we do not know how to account for 
their presence in such situations. It is well known that hard Lobsters which entered the traps 
in that condition have shed therein, but in aU such cases the cast skin should be present 
when the traps are brought to the surface of the water. It is possible that soft Lobsters are 
attracted into the traps by the smell of the bait, without the possibility of eating it. Most 
of the soft-shell Lobsters handled, however, are captured before shedding. Very many are often 
obtained in this way, but they are not considered good eating, as their flesh is described as 
thin and watery. They are mostly used as bait, although it is stated that they are also sold to 
the canneries. 

Soft-shell Lobsters are more subject to dangers than the hard-shell, being helpless to protect 
themselves. Tliey are greedily devoured by many si)ecies of fish, especially the cod, and are 
even said to be attacked by hard-shell individuals of their own species. When caught at this 
time, even if returned at once to the water, the slight handling they receive is said to generally 
kill them. Remaining, as they are supposed to, as much as possible out of harm's way, and 
probably not feeding while in the soft state, the mortality is undoubtedly much less than as though 
their habits continued the same. 



1 



PROCESS OF SHEDDING. 793 

The length of time required for the hardening of the new shell has never been recorded from 
observation. The fishermen's statements regarding it disagree, but the hardening goes on 
probably more rapidly in warm weather than in cold, as in the case of the edible Crab. A careful 
observer at Wood's HoU, Massachusetts, says that the shell becomes quite firm in the course of 
twenty-four hours. After three or four days it is supposed to be hard enough to enable the 
Lobster to go in search of food, but the hardening probably continues and the shell increases in 
thickness, even though it be very gradually, until the next shedding period. 

A short time before shedding, the Lobster is said to be very full of meat and in the best 
possible condition for eating. This would seem to result naturally from the increased quantity of 
flesh which must accumulate within the shell preparatory to the Lobster's assuming a larger size. 
While shedding, but more especially while in the soft state, after the Lobster has expanded to 
its new size, the flesh is considered by most people as unpalatable, although it is probably as 
harmless then as at any time. The fishermen abhor soft Lobsters as a rule, and would not eat 
them under any circumstances, but customers are occasionally found. One fisherman correspond- 
ent very aptly expressed his dislike for them in the following terms : " They are sometimes eaten 
by aristocrats, but never by ms." It seems very strange that soft Lobsters should be so unfavor- 
ably regarded, when we consider that the edible Crab is in its best condition just after shedding. 

The female Lobster probably casts its shell soon after its spawn is hatched. The eggs are 
attached sofirmlj^to the swimmerets that they remain hanging to them even after the young have 
gone forth, and there is no other way of getting rid of this great encumbrance to the abdomen 
than by shedding. This occurrence has been frequently observed in other species of crustacea, 
and probably happens in the case of the Lobster. In fact, we have numerous recorded instances 
of female Lobsters bearing sjtawn nearly ready to hatch, and with the new shell in process of 
formation. It is the common belief of lobstermen that Lobsters which have lost a claw, or been 
seriously maimed in any way, do not shed until after the injury has been repaired. 

Prof. G. O. Sars describes the process of shedding with the European Lobster, Homarus vul- 
garis, as follows : 

" The process of changing its skin is very tedious and dangerous for the Lobster, which may 
be imagined when it is known that not only the outer shell is changed, but even some of the 
inner parts, e.g., the stomach-bag. The process occujjies considerable time, and while it is going 
on the Lobster is sick and utterly unable to escape from its enemies ot to defend itself against 
them. It is therefore but natural that under such circumstances it very easily dies in the traps. 
Even after the change of shell is over the Lobster remains weak for some time. It therefore 
hides among the stones at the bottom of the sea, and remains there until the new shell has become 
sufficiently hard and its strength has returned. 

" The earliest changing of shell which I observed during my journey was in the first part of 
July, near Tananger. I here had an opportunity of observing a Lobster engaged in this process. 
It had just been taken out of a lobster-box, and could be handled without offering the least resist- 
ance. The shell on the back was burst in the middle, and the tail and the feet were nearly all out 
of the old shell, while the largest claw only stuck out half its length. This latter portion of the 
change of shell is evidently very dangerous, and, although I observed it for quite a while, I could 
see little or no progress. It is certainly a painful and dangerous process, and probably many a 
Lobster loses its life at such times. Immediately after casting its shell the Lobster is lean and 
miserable, and only obtains its proper condition after the lapse of considerable time. According 
to my observations, the change of shell takes place chiefly during the month of July. It certainly 
happens that some change later, but by far the larger number appear to shed during that month." 



794 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

The following note regarding the shedding of the European Lobster, abstracted from a report 
by a Danish naturalist/ goes to confirm our previous statement, that the females shed soon after 
spawning : 

" After the Lobster has emitted its roe, and the young have left the mother, she begins to 
shed. She therefore goes to safe places, and does not seem to care much for food while the old 
skin is being loosened ; the sheU finally opens in the back, and the animal goes into the water 
naked. It then looks as if it were covered with velvet, on account of the considerable formation 
of cells which is going on all over its surface. These cells afterward grow hard through small 
particles of lime and form the new shell. This shedding of the shell goes on from the middle of 
July to September, but not at the same time all along the coast, being earlier in the southern and 
later in the northern part. The Lobster thvis gets sick, as it is called, toward the end of June 
near Sogndal, and the export must then cease, as the mortality among them becomes too great, 
while near Karmo it is still in a healthy condition till July 15. Farther north the shedding of 
the shell begins still later, and Lobster may be caught all through July." 

Rate of geowth. — Nothing is known regarding the rate of growth of the Lobster for any, 
extended period of time. Just how many years must elapse before it reaches a length of, say, teni 
inches has never been determined, nor can we expect to solve this problem without a long series- 
of careful observations, which it seems almost impossible to make. It is well known that the^ 
Lobster increases in size only when shedding. As the old shell is cast away the soft body rapidly, 
expands to a certain extent, and then soon becomes invested again with a new hard covering. 
Knowing the frequency of the shedding periods, and the amount of expansion at each, we could 
easily determine the age of Lobsters of all sizes ; but these are the very data which are lacking. . 
It is probable that the rate of growth is not the same at all shedding periods, but is greater in the 
younger stages than in the older. The early transformation from the embryo to the first perfect 
lobster form are all accomplished during a single season by several moltings, but beyond this 
period we know nothing accurately concerning the intervals between moltings, but in a medium- 
sized Lobster they probably occur only once or twice a year. 

We have collected from several sources a few data as to the amount of expansion at certain 
stages of growth, and although we cannot vouch for their accuracy, they are probably not far 
from correct. The measurements given are for the length of the entire body without the claws. 
One Lobster eight inches long before shedding measured ten inches after shedding; another 
measured ten inches before and twelve inches after shedding; a third ten and one-half inches 
before and eleven and three-fourths inches after shedding; and a fourth ten and one-half inches 
before and twelve inches after shedding. If these measurements had all been taken with care 
they would indicate that the rate of growth was not always the same in different individuals of i 
about the same size. 

The lobster fishermen have very different notions regarding the ages of Lobsters, and while' 
some contend that they attain a marketable size in two or three years, others extend the period to i 
eight or ten years. The matter is one of considerable importance, bearing as it does upon the 
framing of projier protective laws, and the feasibility of lobster culture and breeding. 

Mr. Frank Buckland, in his report for 1877, gives the two following notes on the frequency 
of shedding and the rate of growth of the European Lobster. They are not, however, very 
satisfactory; and we cannot believe that the American lobster sheds as frequently after the: 
first year or two. 

"According to some careful observations made at the marine laboratory, Concarneau, it 

' Axel Boeck: Om det norske Hummerfiske og dets Historie. Copeniagen, 1868-'69. 



EEPEODUCTION OF THE LOBSTER. 



795 



appears that the first year the Lobster sheds his shell six times, the second year six times, the 
third year four times, and the fourth year three times. 

"The following table shows the rate of growth in a Lobster after each shedding of its shell: 



Sheddingrs. 


Length. 


Weight. 


Eighth 


Inch^. 
2 
2J 
2i 
3 
Si 
4 
4i 


Otmce. 


Drachms, 
1* 
21 

H 

m 


Ninth 




Tenth 




Eleventh 




Twelfth 




Thirteenth 






1 





Eeproduction — GENEKAi REMARKS. — Comparatively little has yet been made known 
regarding the reproduction of the American Lobster and the habits of the female during the 
spawning season. This is very unfortunate, considering the important bearing of all such 
information upon the question of the artificial breeding of Lobsters, which, if it is feasible, may 
ere long have to be undertaken in order to replenish our already diminished supplies. Many 
obstacles have been mentioned as standing in the way of such an enterprise, but from the 
favorable beginnings already made in Europe, as well as in this country, we are inclined to 
believe it will terminate successfully. 

Most of our larger crustaceans, including the Lobster and common Crabs, although living 
mainly upon the bottom when adult, have free-swimming young, which, as soon as they leave the 
egg, and for a more or less prolonged period, lead a very erratic life. Not only, however, do the 
habits of the young generally differ very widely from those of the adults, but the appearance and 
structure of the two are as widely unlike. As described under " shedding," the Lobster grows 
by a series of molts. A molting or shedding of the skin indicates that the animal has grown 
too large for its inelastic outer coat. Now, the very young, or the larvae, as they are sometimes 
called, grow in the same manner as the adults. When the higher crustaceans first leave the eggs 
they are very unlike the parent, having a very much simpler structure and often resembling one 
of the lower groups of crustaceans. The larva of the Lobster, for instance, is somewhat similar 
in structure and appearance to one of the simplest groups of Shrimps, the so-called Schizopods. 

The free-swimming habits of the young furnish some of the most serious obstacles to the 
breeding of Lobsters. The embryos, after hatching, rise to the surface of the water, where they 
spend much of their time, and are borne hither and thither at the mercy of the currents, being 
often carried beyond the favorable influences necessary to their development. In many Lobster 
regions along our coast, in calm and clear weather, large quantities of the young may be dipped 
from the surface of the water, in the eddies and smooth streaks formed by the meeting of tidal 
currents. In these quiet spots the varied minute animal life characterizing the upper strata of 
the sea are collected together in the same manner as bits of wood and clusters of seaweed, which, 
from their larger size, are more familiar to the dwellers upon our coast. In stormy weather this 
surface life descends, in greater part, to lower levels. This vagrant life of the young Lobsters 
exposes them to the attacks of all kinds of predaceous surface-feeding animals, which consume 
them in immense numbers. In this manner a great mortality occurs — a much greater one, 
undoubtedly, than would arise did the young remain upon the bottom, where they could find some 
shelter and protection from their enemies. The means of caring for and protecting these wayward 
young should be the first consideration of the would-be Lobster-breeder, and in this matter he will 
probably encounter his greatest difiiculties. The length of time required for the young to attain 



796 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

the adult size is another matter of prime importance, as the breeder's success must also depend on 
his producing an early harvest. The age of what may be considered adult Lobsters (ten to 
eleven inches) is not known, estimates by different observers placing it all the way from three 
to a dozen years. If the latter estimate be correct, we would be almost forced to consider lobster- 
breeding as an industry impracticable from the start, as the care, during ten or twelve years, of 
the number of young necessary to produce salable Lobsters in marketable quantities would involve 
an expense quite out of proportion to the prices which could be obtained for them. We very 
much doubt, however, this prolonged extension of the immature stage, of the Lobster, although 
we have no direct proof to the contrary. Lobstermen, as a rule, consider that Lobsters grow to 
be ten inches long in the course of three to five years, and they base their conclusions mainly 
on the fact that the increase in size at each molt is considerable; but this question is discussed 
elsewhere in this report. We do not pretend to say that, ia case the slow growth of Lobsters 
is proved, breeding would be without many good results; for, if the growth and habits of Lobsters 
could be well understood, much care and protection might be accorded them, which would 
materially increase their numbers. Any new and carefully made observations on the spawning 
habits and growth of Lobsters would be gladly welcomed by all who are interested in the lobster 
question, whether from a scientific or a practical standpoint. 

Spawning- season. — Lobsters appear to have no definite spawning season, as they are 
found with eggs, in different stages of development, during the entire year. According to the 
statements of lobster fishermen and others who have had abundant means of observation in this 
line, spawning takes place mainly from March until September. It should be remembered, 
however, that the winter lobster fishery is of very much less importance than the summer, and 
that during the former season the number of Lobsters handled does not in any way compare with 
the number taken in the latter, so that the proportion of spawning Lobsters to non-spawning 
ones, in the two seasons, may not be as great as would seem to appear. Winter observations on 
the natural history of the Lobster, as well as of many other of our marine food invertebrates, are 
very much desired. It is said that on the northern New England coast, from Cape Cod eastward, 
Lobsters with spawn about ready for extrusion from the body begin to appear abundantly in 
March, and with the spawn or eggs on the outside, as well as hatching, are most abundant from 
June to September. In the Bay of Fundy, Lobsters spawn principally from the last of June to 
the last of August. Southward of these limits the spawning season begins earlier. 

Considering, now, the fact that spawning Lobsters occur throughout the entire year, we are 
left without data as to the frequency of spawning in each individual Lobster. Did a short, 
definite spawning period exist for each year, we might assume that Lobsters spawned only once 
a year, or at least we could assert that they spawned no oftener than once a year. The only way 
of determining the fact positively would be to study individual Lobsters for a certain period of 
time, in their natural haunts and under natural conditions, and every one knows how difficult 
such an undertaking would be with most marine animals. As it is, the possibility exists of 
Lobsters spawning more than once a year, and there is no evidence to prove that they spawn 
with any exact regularity as to time. We have the statements of several individuals, some 
published and others not, to the effect that quite fully developed eggs are sometimes apparent 
in the ovaries when the Lobster is carrying spawn on the outside of the body. But there is no 
way of determining how long a time must elapse before the second lot of spawn might be 
fertilized and made ready for extrusion. We are justified in believing, however, that, as n rule. 
Lobsters spawn but once a year. In the Lobster, as in many other marine animals, only a portion 
of the ova is fertilized and developed at each spawning time, often leaving the ovaries still quite 



SPAWNING HABITS. 797 

expanded with their coutents, and therefore we must always expect to find spawn in some stage 
of development within the adult female, whether she is carrying external spawn or not. This 
statement will serve to explain to lobstermen the fact, which they often regard with some 
surprise, of females carrying both internal and external spawn at the same time, the former, of 
course, far less developed than the latter. 

The mature ovaries form two elongate lobes of considerable size, on the iipper side of the 
body, just within the shell, and immediately before spawning Lobsters are considered to be in 
very good, if not the best, condition for eating ; it is probable also that at about this stage the 
spawn first attracts the attention of most fishermen. 

Habitats while spawning. — Nothing definite seems to be known regarding the haunts 
of spawning Lobsters, or as to whether they change their ground at such times. It is probable 
that, to some extent, they do prefer certain localities for this purpose ; but as Lobsters with 
spawn are taken by the fishermen in their traps at all seasons of the year, and in all depths, this 
rule cannot, by any means, be regarded as universal. By assuming that certain regions are more 
favorable for the development and hatching of the eggs, we can readily explain the great prepon- 
derance of female Lobsters with spawn on the sandy shores about Provincetown, Cape Cod, 
during the summer months. Tet, iu direct contrast with this region stands nearly the entire 
coast of Maine, rocky in the extreme, whei-e Lobsters are even more abundant, and where they 
probably reproduce in equal proportions. 

Size of spawning Lobstees. — Lobsters do not generally begin to spawn until they have 
attained a length of about ten and a half to eleven inches (exclusive of the claws), which is about 
the legal size of marketable Lobsters. We are informed by several correspondents, however, 
that spawning Lobsters have been taken as small as eight, nine, and ten inches; but such as these 
are very rare. ' It is probable that they become mature at a smaller size at the South than at 
the North, as Lobsters average smaller in Southern New England than in Northern New 
England, and yet the age may average the same in both cases. Mr. S. M. Johnson, of Boston, 
who has handled many thousands of Lobsters, states that he has never seen from east of 
Cape Cod more than two or three specimens bearing spawn under ten and a half inches. He 
thinks that but few begin to spawn much under eleven inches in length, and this size, in his 
opinion, would be the proper limit below which none should be sold in order to fully protect the 
species. 

Paieing. — So far as we are aware, no one has ever witnessed the operation of pairing in 
Lobsters, and all that we know concerning it is mere conjecture. Many of the female Lobsters 
obtained from sandy bottoms, as at Provincetown, Cape Cod, are said, by observers, to have the 
carapax more or less abraded along the top, and also somewhat worn over a limited area upon 
the sides. This has led the fishermen to believe that, in pairing, the female Lobster lies upon her 
back with the male on top, clasping her about the carapax with his claws. While in this 
position any strong agitation of the water by the waves in slight depths would probably cause 
the pairs to oscillate backward and forward, and might account for the abraded carapaces of 
the female, which are said to be of common occurrence. This story has been told us by several 
reliable parties, entirely independent of one another; but we cannot say how much reliance 
should be placed upon it, and the evidence is certainly very slight. 

A large New York dealer iu Cray-fishes, who keeps large quantities of these lobster-like 
crustaceans on hand during their season, says that he has frequently witnessed them pairing, and 
that tlie males and females come together Ijelly to belly, with the claws of one tightly clasping 
those of the other, and spread out so as to form with the bodies a rude Y-shaped figure. 



798 NATURAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

Number of egos. — The Lobster, like many other crustaceans, carries a very large amouut 
of sjjawu on the exterior of the body at each spawning time. The number varies with the age 
and size of the Lobster, but to what extent is not known. Mr. S. M. Johnson, of Boston, states 
that two and a half pound Lobsters bear externally, on an average, about twenty thousand eggs 
at a time, according to several careful computations, made by comparing the weight of a certain 
number of eggs with the weight of the entire mass of spawn attached to the swimmerets. 

Two females which I examined at Bastport, Maine, in the summer of 1882, gave the following 
results as regards the number of eggs carried on the swimmerets. The first specimen, measuring 
13g inches in length, had 875 grains of eggs, there being 20 eggs to a grain, making a total of 
17,500 eggs. The second specimen measured 13 inches long and carried 480 grains of eggs, with 
25 eggs to a grain, making a sum total of about 12,000 eggs. Neither of the above specimens, 
however, appeared to have their full quota of eggs, as many of the bunches seemed to have been 
more or less brushed away, probably by rough handling. In the last specimen, especially, had all 
the bunches been of equal and full size, the number would have been increased fully one-half. 

According to Mr. Frank Buckland, "the [English] Berried Lobster carries five bunches of 
eggs on each side underneath the tail, making ten bunches in all. I have counted the eggs in 
one bunch and find that there are 2,496, making the number of eggs in this one lobster 24,960. 
Lobsters are found with berries all the year round; March, April, May are the months when they 
are fullest." 

Designations of spawn. — Lobster spawn is variously designated, on different parts of the 
coast, as "spawn," -'roe," "eggs," "berry," "seed," "pea," "sweetbread," "coral," etc.; but in most 
places it is known simply as "spawn," "eggs," or "berry." On the Nova Scotia coast the term 
"coral" is sometimes used to designate the nearly mature spawn while still within the body of the 
Lobster, and after it has passed to the outside it is called " eggs." In the Bay of Fyndy the terms 
" coral, " roe," and " sweetbread " refer to the spawn before extrusion from the body, and they 
may also be used in a similar way on other i)arts of the coast. In some portions of Long Island 
Sound, Lobsters with external spawn are called " Black-egg Lobsters." 

The spawn as food. — Before the spawn has passed from the body to' the external appendages 
it is very much esteemed as food, and is generally eaten whenever it can be obtained ; it is also 
canned. The external spawn, however, although sometimes used to garnish fish dishes and 
salads, is not usually regarded as edible. 

Extrusion of the eggs, etc. — The spawning of the Lobster is accomplished in about the 
same manner as with the Cray-fish, regarding which many more carefully recorded observations 
are extant. According to Huxley, the fecundating material of the Crayfish, which is extruded 
from a small aperture on the basal joint of the hindermost pair of legs, is a "thickish fluid, 
which sets into a white solid after extrusion." This substance is deposited by the male on the 
thorax of the female, between the bases of the hindermost pair of thoracic limbs. The apertures 
for the outward passage of the eggs are situated on the bases of the second pair of legs, back of 
the large claws. The eggs, " asthey leave the apertures of the oviducts, are coated with a viscid 
matter, which is readily di-awn out into a short thread. The end of the thread attaches itself lo 
one of the long hairs with which the swimmerets are fringed, and as the viscid matter rapidly 
hardens, the egg thus becomes attached to the limb hy a stalk. The operation is repeated until 
sometimes a couple of hundred eggs are thus glued on to the swimmerets. Partaking in the move- 
ments of the swimmerets, they are washed backward and forward in the water, and thus aerated 
and kept free of impurities." 

The process of development is slow, and the young, when first hatched, bear a general 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG. 799 

resemblance to the parent. For some time after they are hatched they hold on to the swimmerets 
of the mother, and are carried about protected by her abdomen. As they become more active 
they sometimes leave the mother when she is resting quietly and creep about a short distance off, 
but quickly return to her on the first semblance of danger. A few days later they gradually 
forsake her for good. The earlier stages of the embryo Lobster differ considerably from those 
of the Cray-fish, as described further on. The eggs of the Lobster are i^iobably extruded in 
a similar manner, and are attached to the swimmerets by the same viscid substance. Accord- 
ing to some American observers, however, the viscid substance is first extruded from the openings 
of the oviducts and appears as a thick, globular mass, which is brushed back over the swim- 
merets by the movements of the posterior pair of thoracic legs. The eggs are said to follow 
immediately afterwards and to be spread about in the same manner. Becoming thus securely 
attached to the swimmerets, they remain well protected and are kept constantly aerated by the 
movements of these posterior flaps until the young are hatched. Without further observations 
we cannot strongly indorse the itlea of the viscid material being first excreted; but if such 
occurs in the beginning, there is still no reason why the eggs may not be also covered with the 
same substance as they are laid. The eggs are not attached to the smooth surface of the 
swimmerets of the Lobster, but to the long, slender hairs which project from along their sides. 
In that way they hang more loosely and can be given freer motion. 

Shedding apteb spawning. — As explained under "shedding," it is probable that, as a 
rule, the females shed their shells soon after their eggs are hatched, as there is no other way of 
ridding themselves of the broken eggshells adhering so firmly to the swimmerets bj means of 
the tough little threads. Lobsters with very ripe spawn have frequently been seen in a condition 
preparatory to shedding, thus, in a measure, corroborating the above conjecture. According to 
Prof. S. I. Smith this shedding after spawning is known to occur in some of the Crabs. This 
peculiarity is also affirmed with regard to the European female Lobster, as described elsewhere. 

Development of the young. — The earlier embryonic stages of the Lobster have been 
studied by Prof. S. I. Smith, of Yale College, whose observations, however, extended over only a 
limited period. They were made at Wood's HoU, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut. 
Eggs with the embryos well advanced, taken from the females May 2, had the shape of slightly 
elongate spheroids, about 2.1™" long and 1.9™™ across. " One side is rendered very opaque dark 
green by the unabsorbed yolk mass, while the other shows the eyes as two large black spots, 
and the red pigment spots on the edge of the carapax, bases of the legs, etc., as irregular lines 
of pink markings. . . . Fully one-half the embryo is still occupied by the unabsorbed portion 
of the yolk. . . . The eyes are large, nearly round, and with a central portion of black 
pigment. . . . The five paii'S of cephalo-thoracic legs are all similar and of about the same 
size, except the main branch of the first pair, which is much larger than that of the others. . . . 
The subsequent development of the embryo within the egg was not observed." 

in the account of his observations. Professor Smith goes on to describe such of the embryonic 
stages following hatching as he was able to obtain. From his long and technical descriptions we 
extract only those portions which can be best understood by the general reader, and which it will 
be well for the breeder to become acquainted with to aid him in his practical labors. We would 
suggest here that the breeder himself, or some intelligent man in his employ, should familiarize 
himself with the workings of an ordinary low-power microscope, in order that he may follow the 
development of the yoiuig Lobsters under his care, and observe whether they are doing well or 
die off soon after hatching. Unless such precautions as these are taken, he might continiie to 
work for a long time completely in the dark, and without knowing whether he was making 



800 NATUKAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

progress or not. A continuous series of observations would enable him, at all times, to follow 
the success of his experiments, or determine, perhaps, the causes of his failures. 

The exact number of changes or moltings which take place between the last egg stage and 
the first stage having the general shape and characters of the adult, is not known. Professor 
Smith observed three such stages, but supposes others to be wanting. His account of these 
stages is as follows : 

"The following observations on the young larvae, after they have left the eggs, have all been 
made upon specimens obtained in Vineyard Sound, or the adjacent waters, during July. These 
specimens were mostly taken at the surface in the daytime, either with the towing or hand net. 
They represent three quite different stages in the true larval condition, besides a later stage 
approaching closely the adult. The exact age of the larvae of the first stage was not ascertained, 
but was probably only a few days, and they had, most likely, molted not more than once. 
Between the third stage, here described, and the last there is probably an intermediate form 
wanting. 

" First stage. — In this stage the young are free-swimming Schizopods ' about a third of an 
inch (7.8™™ to 8.0™™) in length, without abdominal appendages, and with six pairs of pediform 
cephalo-thoracic appendages, each with the exopodus developed into a powerful swimming organ. 
The eyes are bright blue; the anterior portion and the lower margin of the carapax and the 
bases of the legs are speckled with orange; the lower margin, the whole of the penultimate, and 
the basal portion of the ultimate segment of the abdomen are brilliant reddish-orange. The 
antennae have large, well-developed scales, furnished along the inner margin with long, jjlumose 
hairs. . . . The anterior cephalo-thoracic legs, which in the adult develop into the big claws, 
are exactly alike and no longer than the exterior maxillipeds. The pediform (outer) branch 
is, however, somewhat stouter than in the other legs, and subcheliform (bearing an imperfect 
claw); the legs of the second and third pairs are similar to the first, but not as stout. The legs of 
the fourth and fifth i>airs are still more slender, and styliform at the extremity, as in the adult." 
Very rudimentary branchise or gills are observed on all of the legs and the external maxillipeds. 
"The abdomen is slender, the second to the fifth segments each armed with a large dorsal spine, 
curved backward, and with the lateral angles produced into long spines, and the sixth segment 
with two dorsal spines. The posterior margin of the last segment is armed with a long and stout 
central spine, and each side with fourteen or fifteen plumose spines or setae, which are articulated 
to the margin. 

"In this stage the young were first taken July 1, when they were seen swimming rapidly 
about at the surface of the water among great numbers of Zoeae, Megalops, and Copepods. Their 
motions and habits re(!all at once the species of Mysis and Thysanopoda, but their motions are not 
quite as raijid, and are more irregular. Their bright colors render them conspicuous objects, and 
they must be readily seen and captured by fishes. They were frequently taken at the surface in 
different parts of Vineyard Sound from July 1 to 7, and several were taken off Newport, Rhode 
Island, as late as July 15, and they would very likely be found also in June, judging from the 
stage of development to which the embryos had advanced early in May in Long Island Sound. 
Besides the si^ecimens taken in the open water of the Sound, a great number were obtained July 
6 from the well of a lobster- smack, where they were swimming in great abundance near the 
surface of the water, having undoubtedly been recently hatched from the eggs carried by the 

' The Schizopods are a group of Shrimps, lower in organization than our common Shrimp [Crangon vulgaris), and very 
abundant along the New England coast. They geuenvlly swim in large schools, either at the suriiice or at intermediate 
depths between the surface and the bottom, otten at some distance from land. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG. 801 

female Lobsters confined iu the well. Some of these specimens lived in vessels of fresh sea-water 
for two days, but all efforts to keep them alive long enough to observe their molting failed. Thej 
appeared, while thus in confinement, to feed principally upon very minute animals of difi'erent 
kinds, but were several times seen to devour small Zoese, and occasionally when much crowded, so 
that some of them became exhausted, they fed upon each other, the stronger ones eating the 
weaker. 

^'Second stage.-^ln the next stage the young Lobsters have increased somewhat in size, and 
the abdominal legs of the second to the fifth segments have appeared. The rostrum is much 
broader and there are several teeth along the edges. The basal segments of the anteunula; have 
become defined, and the secondary flagellum has appeared, but is not subdivided into segments. 
The antennsB and mouth organs have undergone but slight changes. The first cephalo-thoracic 
legs are proportionally larger and stouter than in the first stage, and have become truly cheli- 
form. The succeeding legs have changed little. The epipodi of all the legs and of the external 
maxillipeds have increased in size, and the branchial processes are distinctly lobed along the 
edges, and have begun to assume the form of true branchiae. The segments of the abdomen have 
the same number of spines, but they are relatively somewhat smaller, and the last segment is 
relatively smaller and broader at base. The appendages of the second to the fifth segments differ 
considerably in size indifferent specimens, but are nearly as long as the segments themselves; 
their terminal lamellae, however, are represented only by simple, sack-like appendages, without 
sign of segmentation, or clothing of hairs or setae. The penultimate segment is still without 
appendages. Specimens iu this stage were taken only twice, July 1 and 15. They have the same 
habits and general appearance as in the first stage, but are readily distinguished by the posses- 
sion of rudimentary abdominal legs. In color they are almost exactly the same, only the orange- 
colored mai'kings are perhaps a little less intense. 

" Third stage. — In the third stage the larvae are about half an inch (12"™ to 13™™) in length, 
and the integument is of a much firmer consistency than in the earlier stages. The antennulae are 
still rudimentary, and considerably shorter than the rostrum, although the secondary flagellum 
has increased in length and begins to show division into numerous segments. The antennae 
retain the most marked feature of the early stages — the large size of the scale — but the flagellum 
is much longer than the scale and begins to show division into segments. . . . The external 
maxillipeds have begun to lose their pediform character. The anterior legs have increased 
enormously in size, and those of the second and third pairs have become truly chelate, while the 
swimming exopodal branches of all the legs, as well as of the external maxillipeds, are relatively 
much smaller and more unimportant. . . . The branchiaj have developed rapidly and have 
a single series of well-marked lobes along each side. The abdomen still has the spines charac- 
teristic of the earlier stages, though all of them are much reduced iu size. The aippendages of 
the second to the fifth segments have become conspicuous, their lamellae have more than doubled 
in length, and the margins of the terminal half are furnished with very short ciliated setaj. The 
appendages of the penultimate segment are well developed, although quite different from those in 
the adult. The outer lamella wants wholly the transverse articulation near its extremity, and 
both are margined, except the outer edge of the outer lamella, with long plumose hairs. The last 
segment is relatively smaller and more quadrangular in outline, and the spines of the posterior 
margin are much smaller. The only specimens procured in this stage were taken July 8 and 15. 
In color they were less brilliant than iu the earlier stages, the orange markings being duller and 
the whole animal slightly tinged with greenish-brown. 

" In the next stage observed, the animal, abouc three-fifths of an inch (14™™ to 17™™) long, has 
51 F 



iS 



802 NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

lost all its schizopodal characters, and has assumed the more important features of the adult 
Lobster. It still retains, however, the free-swimming habit of the true larval forms, and was 
frequently taken at the surface, both in the towing and hand net. Although resembling the 
adult in many features, it differs so much that, were it an adult form, it would undoubtedly be 
regarded as a distinct genus. The rostrum is bifid at tip, and armed with three or four teeth on 
each side toward the base, and in some specimens with a minute additional spine, on one or both 
sides, close to the tip. The flagella of the antenuulae extend scarcely beyond the tip of the 
rostrum. The antennal scale is very much reduced in size, but is still conspicuous and furnished 
with long plumose hairs along the inner margin, while the flagellum is as long as the carapaxi 
The palpi of the mandibles have assumed the adult character, but the mandibles themselves 
have not acquired the massive molar character which they have in the older animal. The other 
mouth organs have nearly the adult form. The anterior legs, although quite large, are still 
slender and just alike on the two sides, while all the cephalo-thoracic legs retain a distinct proces! 
in place of the swimming exopodi of the larva. The lateral angles of the second to the fifth 
abdominal segments are prolonged downward into long spiniform teeth; the appendages of these 
segments are proportionately much longer than in the adult, and the margins of their terminal 
lamellae are furnished with very long plumose hairs. The lamellae of the appendages of.th( 
penultimate segment are oval, and margined with long plumose hairs. The terminal segment if 
nearly quadrangular, as wide at the extremity as at the base, the posterior margin arcuate, bu' 
not extending beyond the prominent lateral angles, and furnished with hairs like those on thi 
margins of the lamellae of the appendages of the penultimate segment. In color they resembh 
closely the adult, but the green color of the back is lighter, and the yellowish markings upoi 
the claws and body are proportionately larger. 

" In this stage the young Lobsters swim very rapidly by means of the abdominal legs, and 
dart backward, when disturbed, with the caudal appendages, frequently jumping out of the wate: 
in this way Uke Shrimp, which their movements in the water much resemble. They appear to b( 
truly surface animals, as in the earlier stages, and were often seen swimming about among othei 
surface animals. They were frequently taken from the 8th to the 28th of July, and very likely 
occur much later. From the dates at which the different forms were taken, it is probable that 
they pass through all the stages here described in the course of a single season. How late the 
young, after reaching the lobster-like form, retain their free-swimming habit was not ascer- 
tained." 

Development of the European Lobster.— According to Prof. G. O. Sars, of Norway, 
the European Lobster agrees more or less closely with our own species in its spawning habits 
and development, as the following extract from his report will show : ' 

" The propagating of the Lobster does not seem to be strictly confined to a certain season of 
the year, as Lobsters with roe may be found nearly all the year round. But the rule seems to be 
that the development of the young goes on during the summer months, from the beginning of 
July until the early part of September. The more developed roe can easily be distinguished by its 
lighter color, and partly, also, by the larger size of the eggs. A closer examination shows distinctly 
in every egg two dark spots, which are the eyes of the embryo. The more distinct these spots 
are the more developed is the embryo. Wheu its development is complete the egg-shell bursts, 
and the young Lobsters come out. These are in the beginning very helpless and sink to the 
bottom, where within a very short time they undergo their first change of shell. Soon afterward 
cheir swimming apparatus, which has so far beeu surrounded by a skin, begins to work, and the 

' Salt-water Fisheries of Norway. Christiania, 1878. 



BRBBDING OF THE EUROPEAN LOBSTER. 803 

young Lobsters soon gambol about in the water, and come up to the surface, where they remain 
during the entire time of their future development. . . . 

" At the fifth change their metamorphosis is complete, and therewith ends their pelagian life. 
The young Lobster has then entirely lost its swimming apparatus attached to the fore part of its 
body, and in its stead the well-known fringes have grown at the lower side of the back part of the 
body. These fringes are the only swimming apparatus which the grown Lobster possesses; in the 
female Lobster they also serve to keep the roe in position. The Lobster now leaves the surface 
and goes to the bottom, there to lead the same life as its parents. I am not positively certain how 
long a time is required for the entii'e metamorphosis, but I am inclined to believe that it consumes 
a couple of months. 

" Even after the Lobster has reached its final development, it continues to change its skin 
regularly at least once a year, and continues to do so as long as it grows. Only when it has 
ceased growing this change of skin does not occur so often. We shall, therefore, always find 
that very large Lobsters are more or less thickly covered with scales, which is not so frequent in 
smaller specimens. . . . 

" I did not succeed in obtaining Lobsters measuring from an inch to a finger's length, and so 
far as I know none are contained in any museum. I consider it as certain, however, that the 
Lobsters keep near the coast during this stage of their development. The reason why they cannot 
be caught with the bottom scraper is partly their quick movements and partly the circumstance 
that they hide among the algae on the bottom of the sea. The fact that they cannot be caught 
in the common lobster-baskets is easily explained by these having such wide openings." 

The following account of the reproduction of the European Lobster on the French coast is 
by the late M. Coste, well remembered from his many interesting and extensive experiments in 
several branches of fish culture. We have no means of determining how accurate these obser- 
vations are, nor do we know whether they are the result of close study or conclusions derived 
from the accounts of fishermen. We offer them here as affording many valuable suggestions 
wliich may aid observers on our own coast. The seasons do not entirely correspond with ours: 

"The Lobster commences breeding in the month of October, and the pairing takes place 
sometimes as late as January. The couplings are rare at the opening of the season, but increase 
in frequency to the end of December, and but few take place in January. The female emits the 
eggs in about fifteen or twenty days after the pairing. When they have reached the stage 
proper for their expulsion, the female applies the inner side of the tail against the plastron or 
shell immediately over the stomach, in such a manner as to form a cup or cavity, in which are 
to be found the openings of the oviduct, placed exactly behind the third pair of legs. Conse- 
quently when the eggs escape they fall into this natural cup or cavity, as described above. 
They are expelled in successive Jets, to the number of twenty thousand in a single day. 

"The Lobster emits at the same time, along with the eggs, a kind of adhesive liquid, 
which binds the eggs one to the other, and attaches them all to the small feet under the tail, 
where tliey remain in jjerfect shelter from all harm until they are sufficiently ripe for final 
expulsion. 

"In order to forward and force the regular incubation of the ova, the females have the 
power to give them more or less light, as they consider requisite, by closing or opening the fold 
of the tail. Sometimes the eggs are kept quite covered, and at other times they give them a 
kind of washing, by moving the flanges of the tail in a peculiar manner. The incubation lasts 
six months, during which time the female takes such good care of the ova that it is rare to find 
an injured embryo or barren egg. 



804 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC AJSTIMALS. 

"It is during the months of March, April, and May that the actual birth of the young 
Lobster takes place. The females, in order to expel the embryos, now ready to burst the shells 
of the eggs, extend their taUs, make light oscillations with the fan and its appendages, so as to 
rid themselves gradually of the young Lobsters, which they succeed in doing in a few days. The 
young Lobster, as soon as born, makes away from its parent, rises to the surface of the water, and 
leaves the shore for the deep water of the sea, where it passes the earliest days of its existence 
in a vagabond state for thirty or forty days. During this time it undergoes four different I 
changes of shell, but on the fourth it loses its natatory organs, and is, therefore, no longer 
able to swim on the surface of the water, but falls to the bottom, where it has to remain for the 
future; according, however, to its increase of size it gains courage to approach the shore which 
it had left at its birth. The number of enemies which assail the j^oung embryos in the deep 
sea is enormous; thousands of all kinds of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans are pursuing it con- 
tinually to destroy it. The very changing of the shell causes great ravages at these periods, 
as the young Lobsters have to undergo a crisis which appears to be a necessary condition to their 
rapid growth. In fact, every young Lobster loses and remakes its crusty shell from eight to ten 
times the first year, five to seven the second, three to four the third, and from two to three the 
fourth year. However, after the fifth year, the change is only annual, for the reason that were 
the changes more frequent the shell would not last long enough to protect the ova adhering 
to the shell of the female during the six months' incubation. The Lobster increases rapidly 
in size until the second year, and goes on increasing more gradually until the fifth, when it begins 
to reproduce, and from this period the growth is still more gradual." 

Transplanting of the young.— For the benefit of those interested in the question of 
breeding Lobsters by artificial means or care, we extract the following paragraph from a commu- 
uicatiou made by Capt. N. E. Atwood, of Provincetown, Massachusetts, to one of the New York 
papers about fifteen years ago : 

" When we take a cargo of Lobsters on board of a fishing-smack and throw them into the 
well, many of the young are so far developed that when they strike the water the shell of the 
egg is broken, and you can see hundreds of thousands of little Lobsters on or near the top of the 
water in the well. After the cargo has been taken on board, the smack sails for New York, and 
during the whole passage the young are being hatched and are passing out through the holes in 
the bottom of the well. On the arrival of the smack at Fulton Slip the Lobsters are taken out 
and put in cars. If any of the eggs are on the Lobsters, not hatched, they are soon eaten off by 
eels, which go out and in the car as they please." 

These observations of Captain Atwood are exceedingly interesting. It is probable that the 
numerous young Lobsters hatched on the trips of the Cape Cod smacks through Long Island 
Sound have contributed toward increasing the supply of Lobsters along that section of coast. It 
has amounted to a transplanting of Lobsters from one prolific region to another much less prolific, 
and the benefits thus inadvertentlj' derived were possibly considerable. This trafiSc has long 
ceased, however, and young Cape Cod Lobsters no longer find their way into the waters of Long 
Island Sound. 

Food. — The Lobster appears to feed upon most any kind of animal matter within its reach, but 
is said to prefer fresh fish as bait. Feeding naturally, it probably does not discriminate closely as 
to its food. It digs clams from the bottom and removes mussels from their places of attachment, 
sometimes crushing the shells in its claws, and afterwards devouring out the soft parts. Flounders 
and other bottom fish undoubtedly fall a prey to its appetite, and it has been seen to catch nimbly 
at small lish swiuimiug by. Very probably it feeds upon all kinds of invertebrate life which 



CASTING A CLAW. 805 

arc palatable to its taste and live within easy reach of its claws. Sea-urchins even are described 
as furnishing- food for it on the Nova Scotia coast. Flounders, sculpins, herring, menhaden, codfish 
heads, haddock, and bluefish are commonly used as bait in the lobster-pots. An experienced 
observer who has watched their habits under peculiarly favorable circumstances, on the coast of 
Maine, states that, in devouring clams, he has never seen them crush the shell, but as it were 
they absorb the meat from between the valves, leaving the latter intact. He has never seen them 
catch living fish, but could not positively affirm that they did not do so at times. 

Casting a claw. — As is well known, Lobsters have the power of dropping or "shooting" 
one or both claws, which may be more or less completely repl.iced by a new growth. Many 
incentives are quoted for this curious procedure, the principal ones being handling, especiallj' 
in cold weather, entanglement of the claws, and fright. Fright, or a sudden impulse to free them- 
selves from impending danger or pain, is probably the main cause, however it may be produced. 
The break does not occur between any of the movable joints, but always at one particular point, 
near the upper end of the second or double joint, where it is smallest and encircled by a distinct 
groove. The claw cannot be broken off at this or any other place by main force without injury to 
the Lobster, causing it to bleed to death. 

Occasionally in mild weather, but much more frequently in cold weather. Lobsters will shoot 
their claws if handled by them out of water. This also frequently occurs when Lobsters become 
entangled by their claws in the fishermen's nets. As they are drawn above the water, they will 
often, without a moment's warning, slide back into their native element, leaving their disjointed 
member behind. Loud noises, such as thunder, the firing of cannons, etc., are said to incite 
Lobsters to shoot their claws, and also the presence of very impure or fresh waters; but to what 
extent this happens we cannot say. When a claw becomes injured or broken, or perhaps crushed 
by an antagonist of the same species, so as to render it useless or painful, it is often dispensed 
with, in order that a new one may take its place. This process of dropping an old and growing a 
new claw is certainly a wise provision of nature, for this appendage is much subject to injury, and 
nothing more deplorable can be imagined than a Lobster with mutilated claws. 

The practice of shooting a claw, even under natural conditions, seems at times to be a very 
common one. Out of one hundred specimens, averaging about eight or nine inches long, collected 
for natural history purposes in Narragansett Bay, in 1880, fully twenty-five per cent, had lost a 
claw each, and a few both claws. From each stump, in all these specimens, projected a short soft 
claw, still very imperfect in structure, and measuring from one-fourth of an inch to about an inch 
in length. In some of the specimens, one or more of the hinder legs were being reproduced in 
the same way. The fishermen state that similar specimens are also sometimes common in their 
catch. The breaking off of a claw, according to observers, is accomplished so quietly that the 
operation is scarcely perceptible. If a claw of a Lobster be seized by the hands while he is in 
the water, and he casts it, no unusual sensation is felt, but the claw is simply left behind, and the 
former owner darts quickly off. Soon after the break occurs, it is covered with a crust of coagu- 
lated blood, which prevents further bleeding until a skin has formed, from the center of which the 
new claw begins to grow. How long a time is required for the new claw to attain a size propor 
tioned to that of the Lobster, if it ever reaches that size, is not known. However, the incipient 
claw remains soft and continues to grow probably until the first molt, after which its outer layer 
of skin is supposed to harden like that of the remainder of the Lobster. Specimens are 
frequently taken with hardened claws of regular shape, but of different sizes below the normal 
one, rather indicating that at least several meltings must take place before the claw can reach its 
full size. 



806 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

The following incident, furnished by a correspondent, forcibly illustrates the process o:! 
shooting a claw and points a moral. A party who had purchased a number of Lobsters as fooci 
thought to keep them fresh overnight by hanging them over the side of his vessel, by means oi' 
cords tied to tHfe claws. In the morning, when he went to examine his Uve stock, he found! 
nothing but the claws remaining fast to the cords, the Lobsters having dropped back int«i 
their former abode. 

Deformities and DiSEASES.-Lobsters are subject to many deformities or malformations, 
which generally occur upon the claws, and appear to originate from several causes. A broken 
claw is sometimes mended in an irregular manner, and there are frequent instances of what are 
termed double claws, resulting from the formation of a second projection or thumb upon either the 
larger or smaller branch of the claw, and which is more or less perfect in shape but immovable. 
Earely the two branches of the claw are not regularly set with reference to one another, and 
instead of working in the same plane, and meeting edge to edge, they pass one another like the 
blades of a pair of scissors. The thumb or finger of one of the claws occasionally takes on an 
unusual or fantastic shape, or becomes greatly broadened and thickened, but the variations to' 
which the claws are subject are too numerous to warrant description here. Many of them have' 
been figured and discussed by Mr. Walter Faxon in the "Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative | 
Zoology" for March, 1881. They probably arise in part from injuries received while in the soft! 
state, but in great measure they have not been accounted for. 

During the past winter, there was sent to the National Museum, from the coast of Nova, 
Scotia, the carapax of a medium-sized Lobster, with two small round openings covered with, 
membranes, placed symmetrically one on each side of the median Hue, a short distance back ofi 
the rostrum. By the person who sent the specimen, and who saw the Lobster when alive, these 
membranes were described as projecting slightly from the surface, and taking on the appearance 
of a second pair of eyes. Unusual but symmetrical markings also occur upon the dorsal side of i 
the carapax. The specimen was so thoroughly cleaned and dried, however, before we received! 
It-nothing remaining but the shell-that it is now impossible to form a correct idea as to the 
real import of these strange features. 

Diseased Lobsters are not commonly met with. Individuals are occasionally found in a very 
emaciated condition, and some with soft spots like sores upon the body ; but such cases are rare. 
Specimens are sometimes taken with small portions of the body gone, or with deep scars and denrs 
upon the surface, the results of injury. It is usually the older individuals that are marked in 
this way. 

PARASiTBS.-Lobsters do not appear to be much troubled with external parasites or messmates. 
Barnacles often grow upon the back and claws, and mussels sometimes attach themselves to the 
same places. The number of Barnacles is frequently so great and they cover so large a portion of 
the exterior surface as to seriously impede the movements of the Lobster, but this seldom happens. 
Fish-lice are mentioned by the fishermen as occasionally occurring on the Lobsters, but as we 
have never seen any specimens of such it is impossible to determine what they may be, if they 
are parasites at all. 

ENEMIES.-A11 the larger bottom-feeding fish probably feed upon the Lobster, and the sur- 
face fish also greedily devour the young. Soft-shell Lobsters suffer most in this way, and are 
frequently found in the stomachs of cod taken by the fishermen. Sharks, dogfish, rays, tautog, and 
striped bass are also mentioned as being especially fond of Lobsters, but this list could undoubt- 
edly be greatly extended without much trouble. Water-birds sometimes feed upon the smaller 
individuals in shallow water. During the earlier period of their existence, while they are still 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN LOBSTER. 807 

free swimmers and very small, liviDg mostly at the surface of tbe water, by far the greatest 
mortality must occur. At this time they are eaten in vast quantities along with other surface 
animals by the more active fish and invertebrates, and probably but a comparatively small pro- 
portion of those hatched from the egg ever survive this stage. We may, however, be justified in 
asserting that the greatest enemy of the Lobster is man. 

Mr. Frank Buckland, in treating of the enemies of the European Lobster, says that " among 
the animate enemies the principal one, I believe, is the cod. A witness at Burghead stated that 
'codfish are great enemies to Lobsters; he hardly ever opens a cod without finding young Lobsters 
in the stomach ; this is particularly in February and JMarch ; has seen cod throwing up Lobsters 
on the deck of a vessel, as many as five or six Lobsters in one cod. These Lobsters would be 
three or four inches in length, or even smaller. Cod eat Lobsters all the season. In the spring, 
and in January, February, and March, there are many cod about.' Skates and congers, codling 
and haddock, also eat Crabs and Lobsters." 

Destruction by storms. — Mr. F. H. Baker, in a recent paper on American Lobsters, refers 
to their being occasionally destroyed in great numbers in shallow water by heavy storms. He 
cites as an instance the great Saxby storm on the coast of Nova Scotia, after which the dead 
Lobsters were piled up in immense numbers, in several places, "lining the shores like windrows 
of hay on a field in midsummer, the stench from which was overpowering as the Lobsters decayed 
in the sun." 

Distribution and habits of the European Lobster. — The following account of the 
distribution and habits of the European Lobster, Homarus vulgaris, abstracted from a report 
by a Danish-Norwegian naturalist,' is inserted here to permit of comparison between these two 
closely related forms, and to fill up some of the numerous gaps in the history of our own species. 
The European Lobster is so similar to our own structurally that we are safe in as^iming that 
the habits of the two are in the main alike. In comparing the European with the American 
species, however, it must always be borne in mind that the former never attains the extreme size 
of the latter, and also averages smaller in size, while the female begins to spawn when only six 
inches long, although at this size it may possibly be quite as old as the young spawning Amer- 
ican female. There are so many important questions of practical value still unsolved regarding 
the American Lobster, that the suggestions set forth by this Norwegian report may lead to their 
proper investigation : 

"The European Lobster seems to have its central location on the southwestern coast of 
Norway, and goes as far north as Finmarken, where, according to Lem, in his description of the 
Fiumarkeu Laplanders, 1767, it is found north of Traenen, where he ate very flue ones on the 
island of Rodo, while formerly their northern limit was thought to be the island of Brondo; but 
he also thinks that they would be found in Finmarken, if people only searched for them. It is 
very rarely found on the coasts of Iceland, where, according to Mohr's 'Islandske Naturhistorie,' 
it has been found by Dr. Poulsen in Grondevig, but it does not extend to Greenland or Spitzbergen. 
It does not go into the Baltic, but is found all over the Kattegat, especially near Anholt, 
Hirsholmene, Lae.s6, and Hjelm, and, according to Mr. Fiedler's report, in the Great Belt as far 
as Sprogo. On the coast of Bohuslan it is very common, and is said to go into the Sound as far 
as the island of Hveen. On the west coast of Jutland, it is found wherever the bottom is stony, 
and it is very common near Heligoland. It rarely goes into the inlets on our western coasts, 
chiefly on account of their great depth. It is very rare in the inner portion of the Bay of Christi- 
ania, and not very common in the Limfiord. On the coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, it is 



■ Axel Boeck: Om det norske Hummerfiske og dets Historie. Copenhagen, 1868-'69. 



808 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

commou wherever there is a rocky bottom, especially near Montrose, Orkney, Lewis,. and Harris 
Island, and on the southern coast of England, near Land's End and the 6cilly Islands. Near 'irn 
Channel Islands it is common, as well as near several groups of islands on the French coast. In 
the Mediterranaan it is not so common, although it is not entirely wanting; but its substitute as 
an article of food is another large species of Cray-fish, the Langusta (Palinurus). It is, therefore, 
not spread over a very large extent of sea; but it is found in its central locations in very large 
numbers, and there becomes an important article of food and trade. 

"Its general size is eight to ten inches from the point of the spine on the forehead to the tip 

end of the tail. It rarely exceeds this size where large fisheries are carried on ; but now and then 

specimens of a much greater size are found in places from which none are exported, and where it 

consequently has time to grow before it is caught. Thus, Poatoppidan, in his 'Norges natudige 

Historie' (part ii, p. 279), says that the very large Lobsters are called ' Storjer,' and that near 

Utvaer, on the Bay of Evien, a Lobster had been seen which was so large and ugly that nobody 

dared to attack it, and that it measured a full ftithom between the claws. This seems certainly to 

be somewhat exaggerated; but I myself have seen the claw of one which must have been about 

eighteen inches long. Sir John Graham Dalyell says, in his work 'The Powers of the Creator,'' 

1827, that he had seen a joint of the left claw of a Lobster that measured nine inches in length. 

According to this, the whole claw must have measured eighteen to twenty-four inches, and the 

whole animal three to four feet. As a general rule, those that are taken in the fiords are larger 

than those that are caught near the islands toward the sea. The color of the animal when 

alive is generally a blackish-green, with several blue spots; but it may also be lighter, especially 

near the mouths of fiords, while farther out toward the sea it becomes much darker. I may 

mention as a curiosity that during this year (1868) I found a Lobster near Haugesund, one-half of 

which was .of a greenish-black and the other of a light-orange color, there being a sharp and 

cleariy defined dividing line, which ran lengthwise, and divided the Lobster in two halves of 

equal size. 

"The Lobster lives close to the coast, where there is a rocky bottom, among the large algse; 
but in winter, when the water grows cooler, it descends as far down as sixteen to twenty fathoms^ 
while in spring, when the temperature of the sea rises, it stays at a depth of from one to four 
fathoms. It is altogether a coast animal, which very rarely seems to go any distance from its 
birthplace, if it can readily find there a sufficient supply of food. Sometimes, however, they have 
been seen in large masses swimming toward the laud from the sea, and they have then been 
caught in nets, having been mistaken for a school of herrings; but this is only a consequence of 
local migrations, when it goes from the deeper into the shallower waters. It is not able to make 
its way through the sea for any length of time by swimming. Its structure certainly allows it to 
make qu-ck and definite movements, and it can swim freely about in the sea, but this swimming 
never lasts long, as it cannot keep itself afloat very long. Neither is it able, while swimming, to 
catch and swallow its food ; but it seizes its prey only when it can hold on to something. At the 
bottom of the sea it can chase its prey, if necessary, with great rapidity, but while eating it 
remains quite still. The Lobster is a very greedy animal, and can swallow great quantities of 
food, which it seems to find especially during the night by its scent, while during the dav it keeps 
quiet and digests. Its food consists chiefly of the roe of fish, and of dead fish, but likewise of 
small crustaceans and other marine animals. When kept in confinement, it can live for a 
considerable time without food. The Lobster seems to be able to propagate when it is a little 
more than six inches long (at least, roe is only found in animals of this size) ; but when the 
Lobster reaches a length of eight inches it contains a great quantity of roe. A real act of 



BREEDING HABITS. . 809 

(population takes place, the male Lobster placing its double male member into the outer genital 
opening of the female; and the eggs are impregnated while they are yet in the ovary. This 
pairing seems to take place from autumn to spring, or March and April, for it is highly probable 
rhat the roe is emitted from the ovaries immediately after copulation has taken place, just as with 
other crustaceans ; and the emitted roe is found during the entire winter. After impregnation, 
the eggs are emitted from the outer genital openings of the female, which are found at the bases 
of the third pair of feet, but do not fall into the water, as they are held iu a hollow which is 
formed by the bent tail, which, both at the end and on the sides, has leaf-shaped fringes that 
inclose the space formed by the bending of the tail. Under this tail there is fastened a double 
row of the so-called tail-feet, to which the eggs are strung by strong, slimy strings. The embryo 
now begins to develope in these eggs, which are quite numerous, two to three thousand in one 
female, according to the size, and occasionally as many as ten to twelve thousand. The formation 
of the embryo does not, however, seem to begin till the temperature of the water has become 
milder in spring, even if the pairing should have taken place in autumn or winter; for, although 
loose roe is often found in winter, it is never seen in any degree developed into embryos. This 
pairing and the development of the roe seem to take place at different times on different portions 
of the coast ; for the fishermen themselves, who have such an excellent opportunity of observing 
them, are not agreed as to the ai-tual time. The development of the embryo seems to take at 
least fourteen days from the time of commencement, and it can easily be observed till the young 
break the shells of the eggs and begin to lead an independent life. When the young Lobster comes 
out of the egg it measures only a few lines in length, and does not at all resemble the old Lobster, 
but has a different structure. It does not leave the hollow under its mother's tail immediately after 
being hatched, but lives there for some time, and later frequently returns to it. It is particularly 
distinguished by a less complete development of its feelers and tail-feet, and by the feet being 
exceedingly small but furnished with long, brush-like branches, with which it swims vigorously 
on the surface of the water. After having spent some time in this state, it changes its skin several 
times and assumes the shape of its mother, when it goes to the bottom. Its life from this moment 
till it reaches a size of five to six inches is entirely unknown ; for no young Lobsters have been 
caught, either by fishermen or scientists, the smallest having been found iu the stomach of the 
torsk, so that it is probable that they spend this portion of their life at a greater depth, and live 
in a different manner and on other food than at a later period. There cannot, therefore, be any 
artificial hatching of Lobsters in the sense of artificial fish-hatching, but all that can be done is 
to keep the Lobster imprisoned during the development of the eggs, and thus protect it from the 
dangers which threaten it and its young. It is impossible to do anything for the tender young, as 
they die very soon when confined. I see, however, that several persons in France, and Mr. von 
Eris, in the lagoons of Triest, near Grado, have hatched several millions of young by keeping 
Lobsters with ripe roe at the bottom of the sea in perforated boxes. 

"The greatest enemy of the Lobster, and one who sensibly diminishes its numbers, is man. When 
swimming near the surface during its youth, with a number of other small crustaceans, it becomes 
a welcome prey to the herring and the mackerel. As the grown Lobster keeps at no great depth, 
and where large fish of prey are not commonly found, it is not much exposed to them, but 
occasionally, when lying near the surface, it is taken by large birds of prey. An interesting scene 
may be witnessed near Bukkeno, north of Stavanger, where an Englishman has constructed a 
large pond, between some small islands, for keeping live Lobsters. Whenever the pond becomes 
too full of Lobsters, so that they do not find sufficient food, they leave the water and crawl about 



810 FATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

seeking to reach the sea; but duriug their wanderings they foil an easy prey to large numbers ol 
crows hovering round, which take them in their claws, fly high up, and let the unfojtunate 
Lobsters drop down on the rocks, where their shells are broken, so that the crows can eat them in 
comfort. The crows are not easily scared away, but show a remarkable degree of sense, only 
flying away when any one approaches with fire-arms, and later they carry on their depredations 
in the early morning, when they have less to fear." 

In addition to the above we have some interesting remarks on the natural history of the 
European Lobster, from observations made by Prof. G. O. Sars, about 1875, and published in 
1878, in a report on the " Salt-water Fisheries of Norway." In prefacing his remarks, Professor 
Sars states : 

" In order to judge- of this matter (the protection required for the fishery) it is absolutely 
necessary to have as complete a knowledge as possible of the natural history of the Lobster. But 
in this respect very little progress has been made. Although the Lobster is one of the commonest 
marine animals on the coast of Europe, and has been made the subject of special investigations 
by many naturalists, its mode of life is still involved in darkness." 

Farther on he gives the following general accounts of its habits : 

" As to its organization and its analogy with similar crustaceans, the Lobster must doubtless 
be on the whole considered as a stationary animal. It never undertakes long migrations like 
some of our fish. The Lobster certainly moves about with great swiftness and ease, aided by its 
strong tail and the swimming apparatus attached to it; but this mode of moving about is 
evidently not the rule. The hardshell and ponderous Lobster must always make an extra 
exertion in moving about, and its movements cannot, therefore, be of long duration. People 
certainly talk of the so-called ' traveling Lobsters,' which are said to come from the open sea in 
large schools ; and some even say that they have seen such schools many miles from the coast, 
moving about rapidly near the surface of the sea. If this is really so, I consider it as absolutely 
certain that these schools came from no very great "distance, possibly from some of the elevated 
bottoms off the coast. The grown Lobster is, as every lobster fisher will know, in its whole mode 
of life a genuine bottom animal, and prefers a stony or uneven bottom, overgrown with algse, 
where it finds good hiding-places for lying in wait for its prey. During summer and part of 
autumn, the Lobster goes on higher bottoms in the bays and iulets, and is then frequently caught 
quite near the shore among the algae, at a depth of less than a fathom. Toward winter it again 
retires into the deep ; and still later in the season it has almost entirely disappeared from those 
places where it was quite common during summer. Occasionally, however, it is, even in the 
middle of winter, found in deep water, and I have reason to believe that the Lobster never leaves 
our coast entirely, but considers it as its proper home. 

" As may be judged from its powerful claws, the Lobster is a fierce beast of prey, that is 
not satisfied with small marine animals, but occasionally attacks all kinds of small fish that are 
unfortunate enough to come within its reach. The bait used for catching Lobsters consists 
exclusively of fish, principally small codfish and herrings. These must, however, be tolerably 
fresh; as soon as they begin to get old the Lobster leaves them to his cousins, the Crabs, which 
are less fastidious in their tastes, and they enter the baskets in great quantities. 

"The Lobster is cautious and cunning. It never pursues its prey openly, but either 
endeavors to surprise it, in which it is greatly aided by its very highly developed sense of smell, 
or waits patiently among the algae till some marine animal comes within reach of its claws. I 
have several times observed with what cautiousness and evident distrust the Lobster, attracted 
by the bait, has gone round the traps and examined them several times on all sides, before it has 



OOMPOSITION OF LOBSTERS. 



811 



^oue in. Only when it is very hungry, as is especially the case later in summer, after the spawning 

Reason and casting of the shell is over, is it less cautious and more ready to enter the traps. 

I "The Lobster is best and fattest in the spring and early summer, while later in the summer 

and autumn it becomes thin, in consequence of which the English will not take it during those 

seasons." 

Composition of Lobsters. — According to a series of careful analyses by Professor W. O. 
Atwater, of Middletowu, Connecticut, the composition of the flesh of Lobsters is as follows, the 
figures given indicating the average results obtained from three specimens received from the 
coasts of Maine and Massachusetts: 

Proportions of edible portion and shell : Per cent. 

Total edible portion.-^ 39.77 

Shell ^ 57.47 

Loss in cleaning 2. 76 

Proportions of water and dry substance in edible portion : 

Water 82.73 

Dry substance 17.27 

CHiemical analysis calculated on dry substance : 

Nitrogen -- 12.54 

Albuminoids {nitrogen X 6.25) 78.37 

Fat 11.43 

Crude ash 10. 06 

Phosphorus (calculated as P^Os) 2.24 

Sulphur (calculated as SO3) . 2.47 

Chlorine 3.46 

Chemical analysis calculated on fresh substance in flesh : 

Water 82.73 

Nitrogen 2. 17 

Albuminoids (nitrogen X 6.25) 13. 57 

Fat 1 97 

Crude ash : 1-74 

Phosphorus (calculated as PjOs) • 39 

Sulphur (calculated as SO3) 43 

Chlorine • 59 

Nutritive value of the flesh of Lobsters compared with beef as a standard and reckoned at 100. 61. 97 

The chemical composition of the flesh of the European Lobster is stated by Mr. Frank 
Buckland to be as follows: 



Nitrogenous matter 

Fatty matter 

Mineral matter 

Non-nitrogenoua matter and loss. 
Water 



Flesh. 



Per cent. 
19. 170 
1.170 
1.823 
1.219 
76.618 



100.000 



Soft internal 
matter. 



Per cent. 

12.140 
1.444 
1.749 
0.354 

84.313 



100.000 



Spawn. 



Per cent. 

21.892 
8.234 
1.998 
4.893 

62.983 



In connection with this table, Mr. Buckland makes the following observations: 

"That phosphorus exists in large quantities in Lobsters may easily be proved. A Lobster in 

hot -weather, when it ceases to be fresh, assumes a highly phosphorescent appearance when seen 

in the dark, equal, if not superior, to that of a glow-worm or luminous centipede. This light 

increases by friction . . . and this phosphorescent appearance is probably caused by the 



812 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

chemical changes in the organic tissues, when life is no longer present to resist the ordaine 
agency of decay and decomposition; in fact, it is a slow combustion by combination with oxyger 
"The presence of phosphorus in the Lobster is of great importance to the consumers of thes 
sea luxuries; there is no substance which conveys phosphorus so readily into the human systei 
in an agreeable form, and which the system so readily and quickly assimilates, as the flesh o 
Crabs and Lobsters." 

225. THE CRAY-FISHES— ASTACUS AND CAMBARUS. 

Relations and distribution.— The so-called "Cray-ttshes" or "Craw-fishes" are commoi 
inhabitants of most of the fresh- water streams of the United States and Europe, but in thii 
country they are not eaten nearly to the same extent as in some parts of the Old World, anc 
they are not generally regarded here as a staple article of food. * 

The North American Cray-fishes, although belonging to but a single family, the Astacidce 
constitute two distinct genera, Astaciis and Camharus^ and about thirty eight species, three o: 
which do not, however, occur within the limits of the United States. The Crayfishes bear a strik 
ing resemblance to the Lobsters (Eomarus), to which they are closely related, but there are 
several important structural differences between them, and none of the Cray-fishes grow nearlj 
as large as the Lobster. 

Europe contains only three species of Cray-flshes, all belonging to the well-known genus 
Astacus. They are A. nobilis Huxley {fluviaUlis), A. torrentium, and A. leptodactylus. Much 
discussion has taken place among naturalists as to whether the above species are really distinct 
from one another, or merely form varieties of a single variable species. The relations of A. nobilis 
to A. torrentium are more marked than of those two forms to A. leptodactylus, but probably the 
specific differences pointed out are as good as exist between many other unquestioned species of 
the same group in this country. Tt matters little to us in this connection, however, what may be 
the true affinities of these forms to one another, as long as we can define them sufficiently well to 
speak of their relations to the fresh-water fisheries of Europe, as an introduction to our own species. 
Astacus nobilis and A. torrentium are the edible Cray-fishes of Western Europe, and inhabit 
fresh-water streams generally. They "are intermixed over a large part of Central Europe 
A. torrentium has a wider northwestward, southwestward, and .southeastward extension, being 
the sole occupant of Britain, and apparently of Spain and of Greece. On the other hand, in the 
northern and eastern parts of Central Europe, A. nobilis appears to exist alone. Farther to the 
east a new form, A. leptodactylus, makes its appearance."' Those who have treated of the two 
western species of Europe from a practical standpoint have generally spoken of them as a single 
species, to which the old and well-known name of fluviatiUs has been applied. This distinction 
corresponds with the views of the older European naturalists, and this species thus constituted, 
with its two or more varieties, is the common fresh-water Cray-fish of European literature, which 
has come to have a world-wide reputation. 

The structure of the Cray-fish can be best described by defining some of the principal 
characters in which it differs from the common Lobster, according to Huxley. The general shape 
of the body with its appendages and the general make-up of the two forms are very similar; 
but the Cray-fish has only eighteen pairs of perfect gills or branchise at the most, and the Lobster 
twenty. "Moreover, the branchial filaments of these gills are much stiffer and more closely set" 
in the Lobster than in most Cray-fishes. The most important distinction, however, is presented 
by those gills which are attached to the bases of the thoracic limbs, and which number six pairs 

'Huxley : The Cray-fish, 1880, pp. 299, 300. 



DISTRIBUTION OF CRAY-FISHES. 813 

!n both the Lobster aud the Cray-fish. In the latter animals each of these gills forms a simple 
item ending above in a plume and plate; in the former this "stem is, as it were, completely split 
nto two parts longitudinally, one half corresponding with tlie lamina (plate) of the Cray-fish gill, 
md the other with its plume." 

The shedding and the spawning habits of the Cray-fish correspond very closely with those 
)f the Lobster, in connection with the description of which animal the subject has been discussed 
it some length. 

As stated above, the American Crayfishes belong to two genera, Astacus and Cambarus, while 
ill the European species belong to the one genus Astacus. The only marked difference between 
;he two genera is this, that while in Astacus there are eighteen gills on each side, in Cambarus 
;here are only seventeen. This difference in structure is considered to be of sufficient importance 
:o warrant the formation of the two genera, but the external differences, such as the variation in 
shape of the body, and in the proportionate sizes of the several external parts, which are more 
ipparent and more striking to the superficial observer, have only specific value. On such 
iifferences as these are founded the thirty-two species of Cambarus and the six species of Astacus, 
belonging to the North American fauna. More careful aud detailed studies of large collections 
rf Cray-fishes from different parts of North America may serve to greatly reduce this number of 
species, and if such should follow, it would simply go to prove that some of the differences now 
supposed to be of specific importance are merely varietal. Strangely enough, all of the North 
American species of Astacus are limited to the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 
that is to say, to that portion of our country most distant from Europe; while the genus Cambarus 
is confined to the intervening area between the Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic coast. The 
six species of Astacus are variously distributed through California, Oregon, Washington Territory, 
and British Columbia, but only one species, A. nigrescens, appears to be used as food, at least to 
any extent. This probably results from the fact that this is the only species found in the vicinity 
of San Francisco, outside of which city there is Uttle or no demand for this sort of food. Adult 
individuals of this species exceed four inches in length, and when living are blackish in color; 
after death, however, they become of a light grayish tint. According to Mr. Lockington, of San 
Francisco, this species is brought to that city only in small quantities, the demand for it being 
slight. The supply is mostly obtained from Coyote Creek, Santa Clara County, and from the 
sloughs of the San Joaquin. 

The genus Cambarus is pretty generally distributed throughout the region east of the Rocky 
Mountains. No Cray-fishes have ever been found, however, in the New England States, excepting 
in the extreme western parts of Vermont and Massachusetts and in Central Maine, and ten years 
ago no species had been recorded from most of the Western Territories, especially between the 
Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, where if any Cray-fishes should be found in the future it 
will be interesting to know whether they belong to the western genus, Astacus, or the eastern, 

Cambarus. 

At present we know so little, comparatively speaking, of the invertebrate fauna of the rivers of 
the Territories that it is not at all strange we should have so few records of Cray -fishes from them; 
but it is very probable that Cray-fishes exist there in greater or less numbers. New England, on 
the contrary, has been too well explored to leave much doubt but that Cray-fishes are absent from 
lit excepting in the localities above cited. To enter into a discussion of all the species of North 
■American Cambarus would lead us away from the main object of this sketch, which is intended 
principally to point out the range and habits of those species known to be eaten. Suffice it to 
say that the species are more or less irregularly distributed, some States, or even sections of 



814 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

Sates, having several species, and others again only one or two. Some si^ecies are very limited in 
their range, while others are widely distributed. Cambarus aciitus is an illustration of this wide 
distribution, ranging as it does through a large number of the States from the Great Lakes 
southward to the Gulf, and from Missouri eastward to the Atlantic coast. O. Bartonii ranges 
from Canada to the District of Columbia and Kentucky ; €. ohesm, from Illinois to Louisiana, and 
from Missouri to New York and Virginia. C. affinis occurs in all of the Middle States and in 
Maryland and the District of Columbia, and C. virilis extends from Lake Winnipeg, British 
America, to Toronto in the east and Texas in the south. Very many of the species have been 
recorded from only a single locality each, but this does not necessarily imply a restricted range, 
as they may occur in other places in which no collections have yet been made. 

Economic value. — Although Americans, as a rule, do not regard the eating of Cray-fishes 
with much favor, these animals are probably used as food in many of the localities in which they 
are abundant and can be easily obtained. The French in this country are perhaps the principa 
consumers of this delicacy, as they are in Europe, where their own country can supplj- only i 
small part of the demand, great quantities being annually imported into France from German 
and other neighboring countries. In the United States the principal centers for the consumptioi 
of Crayfishes are New York City and New Orleans, and we have been unable to learn of any othej 
cities demanding a regular supply. New Orleans derives its supplies from the fresh waters nea: 
at hand, but New York depends upon more distant sources. The Cray-fish season in New Yorl 
City begins early in the spring and lasts until fall, or until frost sets in. The first supplies come 
from the Potomac River at Washington, where the Cray-fishes are first taken soon after the 
breaking up of the ice in the river. About June 1 the weather becomes almost too warm for 
the shipment of Cray-fishes from Washington, and another more northern locality, Milwaukee and 
vicinity, begins to send supplies to New York. In the early part of July, Montreal adds her 
quota to the New York markets, and the shipments from these two latter localities continue as 
stated above until into the fall. The Potomac River Cray-fishes are larger than those from 
Milwaukee, while the Montreal species is the smallest of all. The Milwaukee Cray-fishes are most 
esteemed by epicures, their flesh being less coarse and of a finer flavor than any of the other 
species sold in the New York markets. The Potomac species is the darkest in color when living, 
but does not turn red by boiling, while the Milwaukee and Montreal' species do. Small quantities 
of Cray -fish are very probably brought to New York City from the State and from New Jersey, 
but if so they do not pass through the larger markets, and there is no regular supply. 

The Potomac River Cray-fish sent to New York is the Cambarus affinis Erichson, and the 
Milwaukee species is the Cambarus virilis Hagen. We have never examined specimens of the 
Montreal species. The New Orleans market Crayfish is the Cambarus ClarJcii Girard, while the 
San Francisco species, as already stated, is the Astacus nigrescens. One of the Lower Mississippi 
River species, either the Cambarus ClarTcii or the Cambarus acutus, burrows into and causes much 
damage to the levees of the river in the vicinity of New Orleans. 

Habits. — Cray-fishes differ widely in their habits, and while some species prefer clear run- 
ning streams, others live in more quiet waters, and still others upon muddy banks, where they di 
holes, and remain much of the time out of the reach of water. 

Dr. C. C. Abbott has given us the following account of the habits of three of our commoner 
species of Cray-fishes, which occur near Trenton, New Jersey.' They are Cambarus acutus, C. 
affinis, and C. Bartonii, which have alreatly been referred to as living in regions where Cray- 
fishes are taken as food : 



' American Naturalist, vii, 1873. 



HABITS OF CRAY FISHES. 815 

"It is difacult to say which of the three species is the most abundant in the general locality 
we have named, inasmuch as they seem to prefer different streams; one being a plant-loving, one 
!a stone-haunting, and the third a mud-frequenting species. In their respective haunts each is 
'apparently as numerous as is either of the others in its chosen home. . . . We have found 
\Cambarus acutm to frequent running streams which have masses of vegetation growing in them, 
Ithe animal in question resting upon the plants, usually near the surface of the water. We have 
I found since our collecting excursions, on carefully approaching clear running streams, such as 
Ijust mentioned, that this Cray-fish is to be seen resting on the plants, always with the head 
idirected down-stream. If disturbed, they would dart backward, down to the roots, apparently, 
of the plant upon which they were sitting. After a lapse of about ten minutes they would return 
to their former resting place, creeping up the plant down which they had so suddenly darted tail 
foremost. 

"The Gambarus affinis is apparently the river species of this locality. We have been able to 
find it, as yet, only in the Delaware River, usually frequenting the rocky bed, but also, in fewer 
i numbers, on the mud-bottomed portions of the river. They are usually found resting under flat 
stones, well out from the banks of the stream, where the water is of considerable depth. 
Wherever the vegetation is dense, we have failed to find them; nor have we seen anything to 
I indicate that it is a 'burrowing' species. . . . Oambarm Bartonii, it appears to us, is the one 
' burrowing species of this locality. We have found in the deep ditches, with precipitous, muddy 
banks, a medium-sized Cray-fish, which in most respects accords with the species called Cambarus 
\ Bartonii Fabr. by Dr. Hagen. ... 

" Cray-fish are strictly omnivorous animals, but, although excellent scavengers, do not feed 
wholly upon decayed animal and vegetable matters. We have frequently noticed that C. Bartonii 
' in an aquarium breaks off the short stems of the common river weed, and eats the maiu stem, 
] after stripping it of its minute leaves. So the C. affinis, from beneath its sheltering flat stone, and 
: C. Bartonii, in its safe burrow, will seize the minute young cyprinoids, that pass up and down the 
stream in such myriads, ever and anon peeping into the various little indentations in the banks. 
; Such little fish, when once fairly caught by the big claws but liy no means clumsy 'hands' of a 
i Cambarus, have no chance of escape, and are soon torn to pieces." 

Cambarus Bartonii described by C. Girard as G. Diogenes, constructs very interesting bur- 
rows on the meadow flats of the Potomac River at Washington, which Mr. Girard describes as 

: follows :' 

" The holes, as they appear at the surface of the ground, are nearly circular, from seven-tenths 

of an inch to one inch and one inch and a half in diameter. The depth of the burrows varies 

i according to the locations ; this we generally found to be from sixteen inches to two feet, and 

! sometimes to three feet and more. The construction of the burrow itself is often exceedingly 

simple ; from the surface of the ground the excavation exhibits gradual slope, in direction more 

[ or less undulating, for a distance of from five to ten inches, when it becomes vertical for six or 

i eight inches, and then terminates in a sudden bottle-shape enlargement, in which the animal is 

! found. The bottom of the burrows having no subterraneous communication, no other issue except 

towards the surface, it is entirely isolated from its neighbors, and leaves no chance of escape to its 

inhabitant. The same burrow 7uay have several external holes connected with it, several inclined 

channels, which, however, meet at the depth where it becomes vertical. We constantly found the 

cavity full of Water, but this was in March and April ; the bottom, for several inches, was filled 

with a soft and pulpy mud. 



1 Proc. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., vi, pp. 88-90, 1854. 



B16 NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

" We. generally found a single individual in each burrow, it being either a male or a female, 
the latter in March or April, carrying under the tail a bundle of her eggs. Sometimes, when 
numerous individuals are gathered on a small space, it may happen that the windings of the upper 
part of their burrows will accidentally meet and have in this case a communication which was not 
contemplated. Each individnal, however, remains in its own apartment; so at least we constantly 
found to be the case. To accomplish the act of breeding, males and females must come together 
at one particular time. In one of the burrows which we examined we found a male and a female. 
We are inclined to believe that the male quits its retreat and goes in search of the female, as one 
individual of the former sex was found, at one time, walking over the surface of the ground. 

"In the spriug, aad we are told in the fall also, the burrowing Craw-fish builds over the holes 
of its burrow a chimney of the maximum height of one foot, but most generally lower. This 
chimney, circularly pyramidal in shape, is constructed of lumps of mud, varying in size, irreg 
ularly rolled up, and i)iled up one upon another, and intimately connected together. Its exterior 
has a rough and irregular appearance, whilst the interior is smooth and as uniform as the subter- 
raneous channel, and having the same diameter as the latter. The cementing of the successive 
balls of mud is easily accounted for when we bear in mind that the latter are brought up in a 
very soft state, and that their drainage and subsequent solidification on their expo.sure to the 
atmospheric air and rays of the sun are all that is required to unite these parts. . . . The 
last touch consists in shutting up the aperture. This is accomplished by means of several balls 
of mud brought up from underneath, deposited temporarily on the edge of the chimney and 
drawn back in close contiguity, so as to intercept aU communication with the external world. 
The number of such chimneys is sometimes very great in one particular locahty, distributed 
without any geometrical regularity, and recalling to mind the scattered habitations or village of 
a newly settled colony." 

N 226. THE SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS. 

The common Shrimp— Ckangon vulgaris, Fabncius. 

This species of Shrimp occurs on both sides of the Atlantic, and is eaten both in this country 
and in Europe. It is, therefore, of considerable economic importance, though of less value than 
the larger Shrimp {Penwus) of the Southern States. Crangon vulgaris, on the American coast, 
ranges from Labrador to North Carolina, and from low-tide level to depths of about fifty 
fathoms. "It is found in greatest abundance in shallow water, and on sandy or weedy bottoms, 
but occurs also on muddy, shelly, and rocky bottoms, and extends at least to about fifty fathoms 
in depth. It varies much in coloration according to the location in which it is found. Upon the 
exposed and light-colored sandy shores of Southern New England, specimens are invariably 
transluceut and very pale in color, so as to closely resemble the surface upon and beneath which 
they live, while upon dark-colored muddy bottoms they are very much darker in color. Specimens 
from a dark-colored muddy inlet of Vineyard Sound and others from dark muddy and sandy 
bottoms at Halifax, Nova Scotia, are very dark indeed, the pigment spots covering nearly the 
entire surface, and the caudal appendages becoming almost black toward the tips." • 

"When resting quietly on the bottom, or when it buries Itself partially and sometimes almost 
entirely, except the eyes and long, slender antennse, it cannot easily be distinguished by its 
enemies, and, therefore, gains great protection by its colors. When left by the tide it buries itself 
to a considerable depth in moist sand. It needs all its powers of concealment, however, for it is 

'S. I. Smith: Trans. Conu. Acad., v, p. 56, 1879. 



THE COMMON SHRIMP. 817 

eagerly hunted and captured by nearly all the larger fishes which frequent the same waters, and 
it constitutes the iirincipal food of many of them, such as the weak -fish, king-fish, white perch, 
bluefish, flounders, striped bass, etc. Fortunately it is a very prolific species, and is abundant 
along the entire coast, from North Carolina to Labrador, wherever sandy shores occur. The young 
swim free for a considerable time after hatching, and were taken at the surface in the evening, in 
large numbers.'"' 

According to White,^the common Shrimp are in spawn on the English coast during the entire 
summer; " the ova are of a dirty white color." 

We have no published data as to the duration of the spawning season upon our coast, but 
"the young are hatched in the neighborhood of Vineyard Sound in May and June, and arrive at 
the adult form before they are more than four or five millimeters long. Specimens of this size 
were taken at Wood's Holl, at the surface, on the evening of July 3. Later in the season much 
larger specimens were frequently taken at the surface both in the evening and daytime. 

" The young of the different kinds of Shrimp, Crangon vulgaris, Palcemonetes vulgaris, and 
Virbiiis sostericola, when hatched from the egg, are free-swimming animals, similar in their habits 
to the young of the Lobster. In structure, however, they are quite unlike the larvje of the 
Lobster, and approach more the zoea stages of the Crabs. When they first leave the egg, 
they are without the five pairs of cephalo-thoracic legs, the abdomen is without appendages, 
and much as it is in the first stage of the young Lobster, while the maxillipeds are developed 
into long locomotive appendages, somewhat like the external maxillipeds of the first stage 
of the young Lobster. While yet in the free-swimming condition the cephalo-thoracic legs 
are developed, the maxillipeds assume the adult form, and the abdominal limbs appear. The 
young of these Shrimp are very much smaller than the young of the Lobster, but they 
remain for a considerable time in this immature state, and were very frequently taken at the 
surface in the towing- net.'" 

Although Crangon vulgaris may be common in the southern part of its range (New York to 
North Carolina), it has not been often recorded from that region, and in fact we know much more 
about it on the New England coast, along the entire extent of which it is very abundant, though 
somewhat less so north of Massachusetts Bay. About Halifax, Nova Scotia, it is again abundant 
and of large size from low water mark to eighteen fathoms, on sandy, muddy, stony, and rocky 
bottoms. It is common everywhere in shallow water and at low-water mark on most sandy 
beaches in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It also occurs in the Straits of Belle Isle. Since this 
report was in manuscript, Crangon vulgaris has been found by the Fish Commission to occur in 
different parts of Chesapeake Bay in immense numbers and of unusually large size. 

The common Shrimp attains a length of over two inches, exclusive of the anterior appendages, 
but is generally smaller. In the neighborhood of New York and about New Bedford, Mass., 
it is taken as food. Northward from there it is, so far as we know, only utilized to a slight extent, 
and for bait only. It may perhaps be taken on the southern coasts, where it occurs, in connection 
with Penceus, which is sent 'in large quantities to New York, but from all the information we 
have been able to obtain, no notice is taken of it south of New York. 

Mr. W. N. Lockington states that Crangon vulgaris is very abundant upon the Pacific coast 
of North America, ranging from Alaska (Mutiny Bay) to San Diego, California. It is smaller than 
C. franciscorum, with which it is found associated ; and it is also less abundant in the San 



'Veeeill: Vineyard Sound Report, p. 339, 1871-'72. 
^ Popular History of British Crustacea, 1857, p. 107. 
'S. I. Smith : Vineyard Sound Report, pp. 528, 529, 1871-'72. 
52 F 



818 NATURAL HISTOEY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

Francisco markets, although comprising no inconsiderable part of the total catch of Shrimp, and 
at some seasons it is more common than its congener. The average length of the specimens 
taken on the Pacific coast is said to be about two and a quarter inches, but large examples 
exceed three inches in length. This form, which is a sort of color variety, is easily distinguished 
from G. franciscorum by its black tail, and the large proportion of black upon its body, as well as 
by the different form of the hand, the movable finger of which is much shorter and folds trans- 
versely across the tip of the hand. From its black coloring it has received the name of " Black- 
tailed Grab." 

This Shrimp is taken on the west coast in connection with G. franciscorum, and is sold fresh in 
the markets as well as boiled and dried for exportation to China. 

The Califoknia Shrimp — Crangon franoisoorxtm, Stimpson. 

According to notes furnished by W. N. Lockiugton, this is the largest species of Shrimp on 
the Pacific coast of the United States, and is the Shrimp par excellence of the San Francisco mar- 
kets, where large quantities are sold during nearly every month of the year. 

The total length of the body, in the adults, ranges from three to three and a half inches, 
while in the same the length of the carapax is about seven-eighths of an inch. 

From the Pacific coast variety of Crangon vulgaris this species can be distinguished by its 
larger size ; by the absence of the black tail and large black spots, characteristic of the former ; 
by the small dots of dark tint which mottle the surface ; and most readily by the much greater 
length of the movable finger of the hand, which folds parallel with the side of the hand instead 
of across its extremity. 

Crangon franciscorum has a somewhat limited range, not being known from north of Puget 
Sound, nor south of Point Conception, California. In San Francisco Bay and Tomales Bay it is 
exceedingly abundant, frequenting especially the sandy coves along their shores. Not only is 
this Shrimi> largely consumed upon the coast when fresh, but it is also taken by the Chinese in 
immense quantities and shipped to China after boiling and drying. The Shrimp industry affords 
employment to a large number of Chinese, and constitutes an important factor iu the export trade 
of San Francisco. The Shrimp are usually caught in purse-nets, which are conical in shape, 
about twenty-five feet long and ten feet across the mouth ; they taper to the lower end, which is 
opened and closed by means of a "puckering string." It is said that no diminution in the number 
of Shrimp results from the continuous fishing, although the edible si)ecies of fish are nearly 
exterminated in San Francisco Bay. 

A species of Mippolite (H. brevirostris), of a uniform light crimson or scarlet color, occurs at 
the Straits of Fuca, in San Francisco Bay, and probably along the intervening coast. In San 
Francisco Bay it is taken with the Crangons for food. 

The common Prawn — Pal^monetes vulgaris, Stimpson. 

The common American Prawn, which closely resembles the English species, although occurring 
in great abundance along some portions of our Atlantic coast, does not rank among our food 
invertebrates on account of its small size. It frequently makes up for that deficiency, however, 
by its great abundance. 

The average length of specimens is about one and one-half inches. The body is translucent, 
almost colorless, but is " marked with irregular, ill-defined, dark blotches and spots, which 
admirably adapt it for concealment among the discolored and dead leaves of eel-grass, at or near 
the bottom," iu which localities ic is most abundant. The American Prawn differs from the 



THE DEEP-WATER PRAWNS. 819 

Euglish, among other things, iu the character of its rostrum and in its smaller size. The rostrum 
of the latter is divided or double at the tip, and specimens range in length from three to five 
! inches. 

P. vulgaris ranges from Massachusetts Bay to Northern Florida. North of Cape Cod, how- 
ever, it is rare. It is very common among eel-grass, etc., in Vineyard Sound, Buzzard's Bay, 
Fisher's Island Sound, and Long Island Sound. Thence it has been recorded from the south side 
of Long Island, and from numerous points, along the coast of New Jersey and the Southern States, 
as far south as Saiut John's Elver, Florida. The localities inhabited by this species are described 
as follows by Professor Verrill : ' 

"The common Prawn has its true home among the eel-grass (in brackish water), and here it 
occurs in countless numbers. . . . It is also very abundant in the pools and ditches (of the 
muddy shores in brackish water), even where the water is but little salt, and also occurs in 
immense numbers on the muddy bottoms." 

It likewise abounds on the muddy bottoms iu pure salt water. On sandy bottoms in both salt 
and brackish water it often occurs associated with Grangon vulgaris, but not in large numbers. 

The River Shrimps — Pal^mon ohionis. Smith; Pal^monetes exilipes, Stimpsou. 

Only two species of river Shrimp have yet been described from the United States east of 
the Mississippi River, and they seem to be used as food in only a few localities. At New Orleans, 
however, one species, the Palmmon ohionis, is very much esteemed. 

In this species, the carapax or anterior part of the body is smooth, stout, and considerably 
swollen, with a short rostrum. Specimens from the Ohio River measured in total length of body 
from two to three and one-fourth inches, the carapax occupying about one-fourth of this length. 
The original specimens from which the species was described were from the Ohio River at 
Cannelton, Indiana, where it is taken for food. Since then it has been found over a larger area, 
including the vicinity of New Orleans. 

PaUemonet'es exilipes is a much smaller species than the above, measuring oidy about an 
inch and a half in total length. It has been recoided from Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie; Bcorse, 
Michigan; Somerville, South Carolina; and from fresh-water streams in Florida. It is probably 
quite widespread in its distribution, but we are not aware of its ever having been used as food, 
probably on account of its small size. 

► The deep-water Prawns — Pandalus borealis, Kroyer; leptocebos," Smith; Montagtji, 

Leach; pkopinquus, Sars. 

These species of Prawns, which resemble one another very closely in appearance and 
structure, are exceedingly abundant in the deeper waters of Massachusetts Bay, the Gulf of 
Maine, and elsewhere off the coast of New England, the British Provinces, and southward as far 
as Virginia, at least. 

Pandalus borealis grows to a much larger size than the other three species, but all are large 
enough to serve as food, and sufficiently abundant in the localities where they occur. Unfor- 
tunately they never approach the shore, and the ordinary methods of taking slirimp in shallow 
water will not answer for their capture. If some means of taking them easily could be devised, 
they would undoubtedly find a ready sale in the Boston and New York markets, for they have an 
exceedingly good flavor. 

Pandalus borealis attains a length of seven inches. As to color, it is, according to Profes.sor 
Verrill, " thickly sprinkled with small, red, stellate ispots, which, from closer aggregation, make the 

' Vineyard Sound Report, 1871-'72. 



820 NATURAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

tail deeper in color than tlie rest of the body. The spermaries are purplish -red, the outer 
membrane golden, ovaries blue, eggs ultramarine blue." Females carrying eggs were taken in 
August and September, 1877 and 1878, in and off Massachusetts Bay and off Cape Ann. The 
localities where this species has been found are as follows : Massachusetts Bay, off Salem, 
forty-five to fifty fathoms, mud, very abundant ; Gulf of Maine, forty to one hundred and sixty 
fathoms, muddy bottoms, very abundant in some places. In the Gulf of Maine, it was found 
to be especially common in a region about fourteen miles southeast from Cape Ann, in fifty 
to about one hundred fathoms. It was also encountered twenty to thirty miles oft' Cape Sable, 
Nova Scotia, in depths of fifty-nine to eighty-eight fathoms, and thirty miles off Halifax in 
eighty-five to one hundred and ten fathoms. Beyond our seas it has been recorded from 
Greenland, Norway, and Bering Sea. 

Pandalus Montagui and leptoceros differ from P. borealis in coloration, "in having the red 
more intense and arranged in clearly defined markings, of which those upon the carapax and 
abdomen are arranged in consiiicuous obliquely transverse lines or bars, while the color upon 
the rest of the body and upon the appendages is collected in distinct specks, blotches, or 
anuulations." The largest specimens which have been examined were from de^iths of ninety 
fathoms, off Cape Ann, and measured four and one-half inches in length. Specimens over four 
inches long have been obtained from several localities. Only a few individuals have so far 
been seen carrying spawn. They were taken in different places during the months of August, 
September, and October. These species range all the way from off" the mouth of Chesapeake 
Bay to Greenland, and P. Montagui also occurs on the European coast as far south as the 
British Islands. They are more abundant than P. borealis, though of smaller size, and are 
common in much shallower water, as well as in the same deeper places resorted to by P. borealis. 

In Massachusetts Bay, they inhabit depths of twenty-two to forty-eight fathoms, where the 
bottom is gravelly, sandy, and muddy, and have also been found on Stellwagen Bank. In the 
Gulf of Maine they are widespread .and exceedingly abundant in many localities, being often 
associate;! with P. borealis on muddy bottoms. They live on all kinds of bottom, in depths of 
ten fathoms downward. They have been found east of George's Bank in a depth of four hundred 
and thirty fathoms ; in the Bay of Fundy, ten to seventy-seven fathoms ; oft' Nova Scotia, sixteen 
to seventy-five fathoms ; in Bedford Basin, Halifax, twenty -six to forty-one fathoms; Gulf of Saint 
Lawrence, Labrador, etc. South of Cape Cod they range down to depths of two and three hundred 
fathoms. 

Pandalus propinquus, which has been recognized only since this report was first written, 
occurs associated with the two last species south of Cape Cod. 

The United States Fish Commission, in its explorations with the dredge and trawl along the 
New England coast during the past ten years, has constantly come upon immense schools of these 
deep-water Pi'awns, sometimes two or more of the species being associated together, at others 
occurring separately. It has been no uncommon occurrence for a peck or more to come up in a single 
cast of the beam trawl, and several such hauls have sometimes been made in a single day. These 
Prawns apjjarently move in schools, and it is often impossible to secure more than a single catch 
in any spot at one time. This fact may result from their moving in a regular body from place to 
place, and thus coming by chance in the course of the trawl at times, or, if naturally disposed to 
remain long in a single place, the api^earance of the trawl must have the eff'ect of frightening 
them away. They are active in their movements, and are thus seldom taken in the dredge. It 
has been the custom on the United States Fish Com mission steamer, when a large haul of Pandali 
has been made, after having selected the specimens required for scientific purposes, to turn the 



THE SOUTHERN SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS. 821 

remainder over to the mess, and there are many witnesses to testify to the superior character of 
the deep-water Prawns as an article of food. 

The lobstermen of Biddeford Pool, Maine, who set their pots in the winter from four to six 
miles from shore, occasionally capture these Prawns, and here may be a suggestion as to the 
style of ap[)aratus which might be tried advantageously for their capture. The openings would, 
of course, need to be of much smaller size than those of an ordinary lobster-pot. A light beam 
trawl of large size might, however, answer still better. 

The California Prawn — Pandalus Dan^, Stimpson. 

According to W. N. Lockington, this is a moderately large species of Prawn, which is now 
commonly brought to the San Francisco market, and is caught in the open ocean between the 
Farallone Islands and Point Reyes. The length of the body in the adults, including the rostrum, 
is about five inches, while the average length of the carapax, excluding the rostrum, is about one 
and a quarter inches. Fresh specimens are finely marked with transverse zigzag lines of white, 
separated by bands of red. 

Pandalus Dance has been recorded from the Queen Charlotte Islands and Puget Sound, north 
of which it is not known ; its southern limit is possibly Point Conception, California, the most 
pronounced point of division between the northern and southern marine faunae of California, 
though this fact has not been positively determined. This Prawn has been much more abundant 
in the San Francisco markets during the past two years than formerly, and the reason assigned is 
that the fishermen, driven out of San Francisco Bay by the constantly diminishing supply of fish 
there, have been forced to resort to the open sea between the Farallone Islands and Point Reyes, 
where the Prawns live in large numbers. It has been noticed with spawn in November, Decem- 
ber, and January. A second species of Prawn is occasionally brought to the San Francisco 
market, along with P. Dance, being obtained in the same places. It is of smaller size than P. 
Dance and of a uniform light pink color when fresh ; it also differs from the latter in the size and 
shape of the rostrum, appendages, etc., and in the number of the rostral spines. 

In 1879, several examples of a large species of Prawn, apparently identical with Penwus 
brasiliensis, of Brazil and the Southern United States, were brought to the San Francisco 
markets; in 1880 none were observed. This species is also recorded from the west coast of 
Nicaragua. Adult specimens examined at San Francisco measured seven inches in total length, 
including the rostrum. Compared with specimens from the Rio Grande, Brazil, no points of 
difference as regards form or proportion of parts were detected. 

The Southern Shrimps and Prawns — Penjeus setiferus, M.-Edwards; Pen^us brasil- 
iensis, Latreille. 

These are the large Shrimps or Prawns which occur in such immense numbers on the coasts 
of the Southern States, and are taken to supply the markets at Charleston, South Carolina ; 
Savannah. Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York, and elsewhere. The two species are 
often found associated together, but Penceus setiferus is the more abundant, and is, therefore, more 
commonly seen in the markets. According to Prof. Lewis R. Gibbes, these species may be dis- 
tinguished apart by the following characters : 

"The common Shrimp (P. setiferus) has a groove on each side of the large spine that springs 
from the fore and upper part of the shell or carapax ; these run backward and terminate about 
the middle of the length of the shell. In the same tray in the market will frequently be found 
other individuals, far less numerous, in which these grooves run the whole length of the shell, 
terminating just in front of the hinder edge or border of the shell, at the first joint. This form I 
have referred to the P. brasiliensis of Latreille. 



822 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

" Full-grown individuals of P. setiferus measure six or more inches in length, from the tip of 
the large anterior spine to the tip of the tail spine, and three-fourths of an inch deep and broad 
in the front or body part. These large specimens of both species are known in the markets as 
'Prawns,' or 'Sprawns,' and the half-grown individuals are distinguished as 'Shrimps.' The 
Prawns appear in our waters generally in March, or in warm seasons as early as the latter weeks 
of February, and remain in season for two or three months, after which the supply diminishes, and 
they appear to retire for a time to spawn. To what region or localities they retreat I do not 
know, nor have I been able to learn anything concerning this matter from the fishermen. I may 
add that I have never seen one of these Shrimp carrying its eggs. It may be that they ascend 
our rivers for the purpose of spawning, and friends have called my attention to what they call 
' fresh-water Shrimp' that differ in no respect from the common Shrimp, and yet are found in the 
rivers above the reach of salt water. In June and the succeeding months of summer, the half- 
grown individuals or ' Shrimps' are in season, and for tenderness of flesh and delicacy of flavor are 
preferred to the ' Prawns.' In the autumn they all disappear from our waters, and I suppose go 
southward or else into deeper water. As Prawns and Shrimps die very soon after being taken 
from the water, they cannot be sent fresh to any distance. They are used both as food and 
bait." 

According to Stimpson, Pencews brasiliensis "is often found in brackish water, and even 
ascends streams to points where the water is nearly or quite fresh. It was thus found in the 
Croton River at Sing Sing, New York, by Professor Baird, and by myself in a fresh-water creek 
near Somers Point, New Jersey." From these places it ranges southward to Brazil, and is found 
more or less continuously along the Southern Atlantic coast, and the Gulf coast to Mexico. 
Penceus setiferus has not been recorded from north of Norfolk, Virginia, but thence southward its 
range cori-esponds with that of P. brasiliensis, at least so far as regards the coast of the United 
States. 

Mr. T. B. Fisher, of Fernandina, Florida, who has been interested in the Shrimp industry at 
that place for several years, furnishes the following notes regarding the Shrimps and Prawns, 
which he distinguishes from one another in the same way as Professor Gibbes : " It is my belief 
that the Shrimp (smaller individuals) move out into deeper water at the beginning of winter and 
there remain until about the full moon in March or thereabouts, when they return to the bays 
and rivers in great quantities as 'Prawns' and ascend the rivers and creeks, I think, to spawn. 
This is the time when they are taken as food. After spawning, or about May or June, they 
return to the sea. From May to August the so-called Shrimp, which then appear, are quite 
small and used principally as fish bait; from August to December they grow quite rapidly. 
September and October are the best shrimping months of the season, and May and June are the 
only mouths when Shrimp are scarce, excepting during the colder mouths of winter, when they 
leave the coast for a time." The seasons on the coasts of South Carolina and Eastern Florida, 
therefore, nearly correspond, excepting that in Florida, the climate being milder, the Shrimp 
remain upon the coast much later in the season or nearly all winter. Mr. Silas Stearns, of 
Pensacjpia, Florida, writes that " Shrimp are abundant on all parts of the Gulf coast, and 
especially so in the region of Louisiana and Texas. They live on the grassy or sandy flats, and 
among the weeds on the bottoms of bayous and lagoons, in both salt and brackish water. On the 
Florida coast they are found throughout the summer months, and appear to breed in the spring 
or early summer. In the fall they make up in schools, and seem bent on migratory movements. 
At this time a few are taken in seines and sold to the restaurant keepers of the cities. On the 
Louisiana and Texas coasts the habit of schooling is much more common, and as the Shrimp 



THE MANTIS SHRIMP. 823 

are very abundant at all times during warm weather, they can be profitably caught for the 
market. Barrataria Bay, of the Louisiana coast, and Galveston and Matagorda Bays, of the 
Texas coast, are notable places for the shrimp fishery. The fact tliat these bays aflbrd unusually 
good feeding grounds and hiding places for the Shrimp will undoubtedly explain their great 
abundance there. Shrimp of marketable size average about four inches in length. Their color 
tends to imitate that of the bottom on which they dwell. New Orleans and Galveston are the 
only cities of the Gulf coast which engage in the shrimp trade." 

227. THE MANTIS SHRIMPS— SaUILLID.ffi;. 

The Mantis Shrimp, or Sea Mantis— Squilla empusa, Say. 

] " The Squilla empusa is a very interesting creature, whose habits are still imperfectly known. 

It is often thrown on the beaches by the waves, and probably it usually burrows in the mud below 

low water mark, but in certain localities it has been found burrowing at or near low-water mark of 

spring tides, forming large, irregular holes. The very curious, free-swimming young were often 

taken in the towing-nets. Large specimens are eight or ten inches long and about two broad. 

The body is not so stoutly built as that of the Lobster, and the carapax or shell is much smaller and 

softer, while the abdomen is much larger and longer in proportion. The legs and all the other 

organs are quite unlike those of the Lobster, and the last Joint of the great claw, instead of forming 

a pair of pincers with tbe next, is armed with a row of six sharp, curved spines, which shut into 

corresponding sockets, arranged in a groove in the next joint, which also bears smaller spines. 

By means of this singular organ they can hold their prey securely, and can give a severe wound 

' to the human hand, if handled incautiously. It also uses the stout caudal apijendages, which are 

armed with spines, very effectively. The colors of this species are quite vivid, considering its 

I mud-dwelling habits. The body is usually pale green or yellowish green, each segment bordered 

posteriorly with darker green and edged with bright yellow ; the tail is tinged with rose and 

mottled with yellow and blackish ; the outer caudal lamellae have the base and spines white, the 

: last joint yellow, margined with black; the inner ones are black, pale at base; the eyes are bright 

( emerald-green ; the inner antennae are dark, with a yellow band at the base of each joint ; and the 

flagellum is annulated with black and white."' 

This species of Squilla ranges from Gape Cod to Florida, but from its habit of remaining most 
of the time in its burrows it is not very commonly known or met with on the sea-shore, though it 
is probably very abundant in some localities. 

" The Mediterranean species of Squilla are generally found at considerable depths ; they live 

in sandy places, where they can easily procure their food, which seems to consist chiefly of annelids 

j and fragments of the Actinia effceta. According to Risso, the females when they wish to deposit 

j their eggs, which they have under their abdominal appendages, retire to rocky places. The 

' Squilla' are. timid, avoiding danger; they swim much after the fashion of Lobsters.'" In Europe 

wherever Squilla can be found in sufficient numbers it is much esteemed as food, and the Americau 

I species would probably be as wholesome. On the shores where it abounds it might easily be 

obtained by digging, and from deeper water by means of the rake dredge. 

Two other s])ecies of Squilla — Squilla duhia and Lysiosquilla. glabriuscula — also occur on the 
coasts of the Southern States, where one or more of these three species are said to be used as 
bait to some extent. 

' Vebeill : Vineyard Sound Report, 1871-'72. 

' White : Popular History of the British Crustacea, 1857 



824 NATUEAL HISTOET OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

228. THE AMPHIPODS. 

The Beach pleas, or Sand fleas— Orchestia agilis, Smith; Scuds — Gammarus locusta, 

Gould; AND ALLIED FORMS. 

The exteusive group of Amphipoda, to which these species belong, consists entirely of small 
aquatic animals which, although not of direct importance from an economical point of view, still 
serve an important purpose in the general economy of nature, and deserve at least some mention 
here. Besides serving as food for fish, many of the species act as scavengers on the sea-shore, 
and, despite their small size, are, from their great numbers, able to dispose of a large quantity of 
dead refuse matter. Some of the species live entirely in the water, while others are exposed to 
the air during low tide, or even most of the time. The experiment of utilizing these small creat- 
ures in the preparation of skeletons for anatomical purposes has been tried with much success, 
Fish, cleaned of the bulk of their flesh, have been fastened to boards and anchored just below the 
surface of the water, near the docks in Eastport Harbor, and within the space of a few hours 
nothing but the bones remained, being cleaned as completely as by any other process, and with 
but little expenditure of time on the part of the naturalist. Several species upon our coast are 
abundant enough to act in unison in this way. Some of tlie deep-water species are as destructive 
to dead animal matter as are those which live near the shore. The cod and halibut fishermen 
often suffer from their depredations, as several of the deep-water Amphipods quickly attack the 
fish which die after being caught on the trawl lines before they are hauled up. The gills of the 
fish appear to be first devoured, but within a few hours they are able to eat out the entire 
muscular and visceral matter, leaving only the bones and skin. Cod and hake frequently die 
upon the trawls, and are thus destroyed, but halibut are more hardy and are seldom much 
injured. 

The number of species of Amphipods upon our coast is very large, but we need refer here tc 
only two or three species to illustrate their principal characteristics. 

" These small Crustacea are of great importance in connection with our fisheries, for we have 
found that they, together with the Shrimps, constitute a very large part of the food of most of our 
more valuable edible fishes, both of the fresh and salt water. The Amphipods, though mostly of 
small size, occur in such immense numbers in their favorite localities that they can nearly always 
be easily obtained by the fishes that eat them, and no doubt they furnish excellent and nutritious 
food, for even the smallest of them are by no means despised or overlooked even by large and 
powerful fishes that could easily capture larger game. Even the voracious bluefish will feed 
upon these small Crustacea where they can be easily obtained, even when menhaden and othe: 
fishes are plenty in the same localities. They are also the favorite food of trout, lake white-fish, 
shad, flounders, scup, etc., as will be seen from the lists of the animals found in the stomachs o! 
fishes. One species, which occurs in countless numbers beneath the masses of decaying seaweeds 
thrown up at high-water mark on all the shores by the waves, is the Orchestia agilis Smith, which 
has received this name in allusion to the extreme agility which it displays in leaping whei 
disturbed. The common name given to it is ' Beach-flea,' which refers to the same habit. Iti 
color is dark olive green or brown, and much resembles that of the decaying weeds among whicl 
it lives, and upon which it probably feeds. It also constructs burrows in the sand beneath th( 
vegetable debris. It leaps by means of the appendages at the posterior end of the body. 

"A much larger species, and one of the largest of all the Amphipods, is the Gammarm 
locusta, which occurs in great numbers beneath the stones and among the rock-weed near low 



THE BORING AMPHIPOD. 825 

water mark. The males are much larger than the females, and sometimes become nearly an inch 
and a half long. They cannot leap like their cousins that live at high-water mark, but skip 
actively about ou their sides among the stones and gravel until they reach- some shelter or 
enter the water, when they swim rapidly in a gyrating manner back downward or sideways. 
But although they can swim they are seldom met with away from the shore or much below low- 
water mark. The zone of Fucus is their true home. This species is abundant on all our shores, 
wherever rocks and Fucus occur, from Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey, to Labrador. Its color 
is generally olive-brown or reddish-brown, much like that of the Fucus among which it lives. 
The only good English name that I have ever heard for these creatures is that of ' Scuds,' given 
by a small boy, in reference to their rapid and peculiar motions. . . . Two other related 
species, of larger size and paler colors, but having the same habit of leaping as the Orchestia, 
though not in such a high degree, occur among the weeds, or burrowing in the sand, or beneath 
drift-wood, etc., a little below high-water mark. In fact, the sand is sometimes completely filled 
with their holes, of various sizes. Both these species are stout in form, and become about an 
inch long when mature. One of them, Talorchestia longicornis, can be easily distinguished by 
its very long antennae; the other, T. megalophthabna, by its shorter antennae and very large eyes. 
Both these species are pale grayish, and imitate the color of the sand very perfectly. When 
driven from their burrows by unusually high tides or storms they are capable of swimming 
actively in the water. They make dainty morsels for fishes and many shore birds, as well as for 
certain Crabs, especially Ocypoda arenaria.'"^ 

The Boring Amphipod — Chelura terebrans, Phillipi. 

This very destructive little crustacean, which is of common occurrence on the European 
coast, from Southern Norway to the Adriatic Sea, has so far been noticed on the Atlantic coast 
of the United States at only two places. Wood's Holl and Proviucetown, Massachusetts. At 
both of these localities it was found associated with the "Gribble" {Limnoria lignorum), in tfie 
submerged piles of old wharves. It is more than possible, however, that it is a common inhabitant 
of our coast, doing a certain amount of the damage hitherto ascribed to other boring animals. 
Without a careful examination, it is quite easy for au unskilled eye to confound Chelura with 
Limnoria, although they belong to very distinct divisions of the Crustacea. 

The main characteristics of this animal by which it may be distinguished from all the other 
Amphipods, as well as crustaceans, are the three pairs of caudal stylets, the last pair being 
nearly as long as the body proper of the males, although much shorter in the females and young. 
As to color, the body is semitranslucent and thickly spotted and mottled above with pink. 

Professor Allman, of England, who has studied living specimens, describes the habits of 
this species-as follows : ^ 

''■Chelura terebrans is an active little animal, swimming on its back and employing its 
thoracic legs to adhere to the timber which it has selected for its ravages. ... Its habits 
are truly xylophagous, and it excavates the timber not merely for the purpose of concealment, 
but with the object of employing it as food, which is apparent from the fact that the alimentary 
canal may be found on dissection filled with minutely comminuted ligneous matter. . . . 
Timber which has been subject to the ravages of Chelura presents a somewhat different 
appearance from that which has been attacked by Limnoria lignorum. In the latter we find 
narrow cylindrical burrows running deep into the interior, while the excavations of Chelura are 



'Vebeill: Vineyard Sound Report, pp. 313, 314, 1871-'72. 
'Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., xix, p. 361, 1847. 



826 NATUEAL HISTOET OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

considerably larger and more oblique in their direction, so that the surface of the timber thus 
undermined bj' these destructive animals is rapidly ^vashed away by the action of the sea, auiJ 
the excavations are exposed in the greater part of their extent, the wood appearing plowed 
up, so to speak, rather than burrowed into. Upon the whole, Ghelura would seem to be a stdl 
more destructive creature than even JJimnoria.'" 

229. THE ISOPODS. 
The Gribble, or Boring Limnoria — Limnoria lignoritm, White. 

This little crustacean pest, which measures less than one-fifth of an inch in length, is a very 
common habitant of our Atlantic coast from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to Florida, and also 
occurs abundantly on the coasts of Great Britain and of other parts of Europe. In spite of its 
small size, it is very destructive to all kinds of submarine wood-work, which it rapidly eats away. 
Its body, which is subcylindrical in shape, consists of fourteen segments, the anterior one being 
the head; the two ends are rounded and the sides are nearly straight and parallel to one another. 
The first seven segments, not including the head, bear each a pair of short legs. It makes its 
burrows by means of stout mandibles or jaws. In color it is grayish, the upper surface of the 
body being covered with minute hairs, to which more or less dirt usually adheres. 

The Gribble generally lives above and just below low-water mark, but has been foimd at 
times, though very rarely, as low down as seven to ten fathoms. It gnaws burrows into all sorts 
of sunken or floating wood near the shore, and lumber or drift-wood left for some time on muddy 
shores is pretty certain to be attacked by it. The borrows are made to a depth of about half an inch, 
and when they become numerous enough to reduce the superficial layer of wood to a mere honey- 
comb, it scales off, leaving a fresh surface, which is at once attacked. Much damage is done by 
this little creature to the piles of wharves and other submarine wood-work all along our Atlantic 
coast, and numerous methods of stopping its ravages have been devised. It has been observed 
attacking the gutta percha of submarine telegraph cables. Professor Verrill describes its habits 
and the damage it has done on the American coast, as follows :• 

"It has the habit of eating burrows for itself into solid wood to the depth of about half an 
inch. These burrows are nearly round, and of all sizes up to about a sixteenth of an inch in 
diameter, and they go into the wood at all angles and are usually more or less crooked. They are 
often so numerous as to reduce the wood to mere series of thin partitions between the holes. In 
this state the wood rapidly decays, or i& washed away by the waves, and every new surface 
exposed is immediately attacked, so that layer after layer is rapidly removed, and the timber thus 
wastes away and is entirely destroj'ed in a few years. It destroys soft woods more rapidly than 
hard ones, but all kinds are attacked except teak. It works chiefly in the softer parts of the wood, 
between the hard, annual layers, and avoids the knots and lines of hard fiber connected with them, 
as well as rusted portions around nails that have been driven in, and consequently, as the 
timbers waste away under its attacks, these harder portions stand out in bold relief. Where 
abundant it will destroy soft timber at the rate of half an inch or more every year, thus dimin- 
ishing the effective diameter of piles about an inch annually. Generally, however, the amount is 
probably not more than half this, birt even at that rate the largest timbers wiU soon be destroyed, 
especially when, as often happens, the Teredos are aiding in this work of destruction. It lives in 
a pretty narrow zone, extending a short distance above and below low-water mark. It occurs all 

' Vineyard Sound Report, pp. 379, 380, 1871-'72. 



ion 



THE SALVE BUG. 827 

along our shores, from Long Island Sound to Nova Scotia. In the Bay of Fundy it often does 
great damage to the timbers and other woodwork used in constructing the brush flsh-weirs, as 
well as to the wharves, etc. At Wood's HoU it was found to be very destructive to the piles of 
the wharves. The piles of the new government wharves have been protected by broad bauds of 
tin-plate covering the zone which it chiefly affects. North of Cape Cod, where the tides are much 
greater, this zone is broader, and this remedy is not so easily applied. It does great damage also 
to ship timber floating in the docks, and great losses are sometimes caused in this way. Com- 
plaints of such ravages in the navy-yard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, have been made, and 
they also occur at the Charlestown navy-yard and in the piles of the wharves at Boston. Probably 
the wharves and other submerged wood-work in all our sea-ports, from New York northward, are 
more or less injured by this creature, and, if it could be accurately estimated, the damage would 
be found surprisingly great. 

" Unlike the Teredo, this creature is a vegetarian, and eats the wood which it excavates, so 
that its boring operations provide it with both food and shelter. The burrows are made by means 
of its stout mandibles or jaws. It is capable of swimming quite rapidly, and can leap backward 
suddenly by means of its tail. It can creep both forward and backward. Its legs are short and 
better adapted for moving up and down in its burrow than elsewhere, and its body is rounded, 
with parallel sides, and well adapted to its mode of life. When disturbed it will roll itself into a 
ball. The female carries seven to nine eggs or young in the incubatory pouch at one time. 

" The destructive habits of this species were first brought prominently to notice in 1811, by 
the celebrated Eobert Stephenson, who found it rapidly destroying the wood-work at the Bell 
Eock light-house, erected by him on the coast of Scotland. Since that time it has been investi- 
gated and its ravages have been described by numerous European writers. It is very destructive 
on the coasts of Great Britain, where it is known as the ' Gribble.' 

"The remedies used to check its rai'ages are chiefly copper or other metallic sheathing; 
driving broad -headed iron nails, close together, into the part of the piles subject to their attacks ; 
and applying coal-tar, creosote, or verdigris paint, once a year or oftener." 

The Salve Bug — Ma a. psora, Kroyer. 

This is the largest species of Isopod living upon the New England coast, and attains a length 
of two inches and a breadth of one inch. It occurs as a parasite on the cod and halibut. In addi- 
tion to its large size, when adult, it may be readily distinguished by its large eyes, which nearly 
cover the upper surface of the head, and approach closely together at their anterior extremities. 
The first three pairs of legs are adapted for clinging to the surface of the fish on which it lives. 
The body is oval, and broadest just in front of the middle. The Salve Bugs are used as an unguent 
by the fishermen, who sometimes collect them in large quantities. 

230. THE ENTOMOSTKACANS. 

This order of crustaceans includes a vast number of small, generally minute, free-swimming 
forms, frequently called water-fleas, which abound in both fresh and salt waters, and other and 
generally larger species which occur as parasites on fish and other aquatic animals. The former 
serve as an important article of food for many fishes, such as the menhaden and mackerel, while 
the latter are frequently injurious to them, being often strangely modified, and burrowing deeply 
into the flesh, from which they suck the juices, causing great irritation and at times perhaps 
death. 



828 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

231. THE CIRRIPEDL&. 

The Barnacles — Balanus ebtjrneus, Gould, and allied species. 

Several species of Barnacles (which belong to the natural group of Crustacea, despite the 
hard, mollusk-like shell of most of the species) occur upon our coast and serve as food for some 
of our fishes, but it is mainly their intrusion upon certain of the marine industries that gives 
them a place in this volume. A large species of Barnacle, Coronula diadema, Linne, growing upon 
the skin of one or more species of whales, is eaten to some extent by the west coast Indians. 

In one group of Barnacles the animals are furnished with a fleshy stem or peduncle, by means 
of which they remain permanently attached to floating objects in the sea. The species of this 
group bear the general name of "Goose Barnacles." Our commonest species is the Lepas 
fascicularis. The other group of Barnacles, represented upon our coast by the " Rock Barnacle " 
(Balanus balanoides), " Ivory Barnacle" (Balanus ehurneus), sbad other species, has no peduncle, 
but the several valves forming the conical shell are attached directly and permanently to the 
rocks or wood on which they happen to dwell. Some of the species of both groups grow upon the 
hulls of ships below the water-line, and in connection with seaweed and other species of marine 
animals cause the so-called fouling of the bottom, nefcessitating constant cleaning and scraping of 
the bottoms of vessels at considerable expense. Barnacles also stand as a serious obstacle in the 
way of oyster culture, as shown by the recent experiences of the United States Fish Commission. 
They grow with exceeding rapidity, very much faster than the oyster, and are so hardy as to defy 
any attempts at extermination. In the spring of 1880, when the experiments in the artificial 
breeding of oysters were being carried on in Chesapeake Bay, slates coated with plaster were 
used as collectors. To these the oyster embryos attached themselves in large numbers, and began 
their growth with good promises of success ; but at the same time embryos of the Ivory Barnacle 
were fully as abundant in the water, and, attaching themselves in even greater numbers, rapidly 
outgrew the less hardy oysters. In many places they completely crowded the oysters out of 
place, and soon occupied entire surfaces. In other places, however, they weie less numerous and 
interfered less with the oyster growths. It is very certain that this inconvenience must always 
remain as a certain check on all oyster-cultural experiments on our coast, and must seriously 
interfere with any attempts at artificial oyster-breeding. It is to be hoped, however, that future 
experiments will prove that the Ivory Barnacle cannot entirely destroy the profits of such an 
important industry, which, in consideration of the greatly impoverished character of some of our 
formerly rich oyster regions, it is very necessary should be started at once, and, if possible, carried 
to a high state of perfection. 

The Ivory Barnacle ranges from Massachusetts Bay to Florida and the West Indies, while the 
Rock Barnacle inhabits the entire North Atlantic coasts of both continents. The habitats of our 
common species are given as follows by Professor Verrill: 

"The common Barnacle of the rocky shores, Balanus balanoides, is also common on the piles 
of wharves and bridges, between tides, and also on the bottoms of vessels, etc. It never grows 
very large, although it may become so crowded together as to form a continuous crust. It is 
easily distinguished from the other species by its membranous base, which never forms a solid 
plate like that of the other species. The ' Ivory Barnacle,' Balanus ehurneus, is also common on 
all kinds of submerged wood-work, whether fixed or floating. It is usually abundant on the piles 
and timbers of wharves, buoys, oyster-stakes, bottoms of vessels, etc. It is chiefly found below 
low-water mark if on fixed objects, and is even more common in the brackish waters of estuaries 
than in the purer waters outside, and it is capable of living even in pure, fresh water, for Prof. 



THE HORSESHOE CRAB. 829 

J effreys Wyman has sent me specimens collected by himself about sixty-five miles up the Saint 
John's River, iu Florida, where the water is not at all brackish. This species is sometimes found 
adhering to the carapax of Crabs, the shell of Limulus, and various mollusks. It is easily 
distinguished from most sjiecies on account of its low, broad form and its smooth, white exterior. 
It has a shelly base. The L. crenatus, common on shells and stones in deep water, also occurs on 
vessels. Other species are often found on the bottoms of vessels that have come from warmer 
latitudes. Some of them are of large size. One of the most frequent of these is Balanus 
tinttnnabulum." 

232. THE XIPHOSURA. 

The Horseshoe Crab — Limxjlus polyphemus, Latreille. 

The curious form of marine animal called "Horseshoe Crab," "King Crab," and "Horse 
foot," ranges along our entire Atlantic coast, from Casco Bay, Maine, to Mexico, and gives rise 
to an important industry in at least one region — Delaware Bay. It is not, however, a true Crab, 
and its exact position in the animal kingdom is still involved in much obscurity. Some natu- 
ralists regard it as a low type of crustacean, while others place it among the Arachnida, or 
scorpions and spiders. Its nearest allies all occur as fossils, through many geological ages down 
to nearly the oldest of the fossiliferous series. Another species of the same genus, however, still 
lives upon the eastern coast of Asia. 

The carapax of the King Crab is very large, with a regularly rounded outer margin, termi- 
nating in a spine at the posterior angles on both sides. The abdomen is much smaller, and from 
its hinder end, to which it is jointed, runs out a long, tapering spine. The basal portions of the 
feet on the lower side of the carapax serve as masticating organs. 

The King Crab is sluggish in its movements, and spends much of its time more or less buried 
in the mud and sand of shallow water, coming up occasionally to high-water mark. It is most 
abundant on the muddy bottoms of shores and estuaries, where it burrows just beneath the 
surface, and feeds upon various small animals. 

" At the breeding season, however, it comes up on the sandy shores to deposit the eggs, near 
high-water mark. According to the statements of Rev. S. Lockwood, the spawning is done at the 
time of high tides, duriug May, June, and July; they come up in pairs, the males, which are 
smallest, riding on the backs of the females and holding themselves in that position by the short 
feet, provided with nippers, which are peculiar to the males. The female excavates a depression 
in the sand and deposits the eggs in it, and the male casts the milt over them, when they again 
return to deeper water, leaving the eggs to be buried by the action of the waves. In aquaria, 
under favorable circumstances, the eggs hatch in about six weeks, but in their natural conditions 
they probably hatch sooner than this ; under unfavorable conditions the hatching may be delayed 
for a whole year. The eggs are very numerous."' 

From several intelligent observers living on the Delaware Bay side of Southern New Jersey 
we have received interesting notes on the habits of the King Crab, as exemplified in that region, 
and which may also hold good for others. While this Crab is comparatively rare on the outer 
side of Southern New Jersey, on the inner side, along the shores of Delaware Bay, from Cape 
May to Reed's Island, it is unusually abundant. It is not, however, always present in the very 
shallow water near shore. Duriug the breeding season, which is mainly confined to the months 
of May and June, but also extends slightly into July, the males and females approach and ascend 
the beaches in countless numbers, the latter to lay their eggs, the former to impregnate them. It 

'Vkeeill: Vineyard Sound Report, pp. 340, 341, 1871-'72. 



830 NATUEAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 

is not an uncommon thing for the female, as she crawls up the beach, to be accompanied by two, 
three, and even as many as six males, the forward one clinging to the abdomen of the female, and 
the remainder fastened to one another in the same manner. As a rule, however, each female brings 
with her only a single male. After the spawning has been accomplished, they retreat from the 
beach in the same order. King Crabs are not equally abundant at all times during the spawning 
season, but are most plentiful on the beaches during the spring tides, which occur about the times 
of the new and full moon. Westerly winds suit them best for spawning, and they will not couie 
ashore in large numbers during an easterly wind. They approach with the flood tide and leave 
soon after the ebb. The eggs hatch in July and August, at which times the sands become literally 
alive with the young Crabs. These soon disappear, not to return to the shore until they have 
attained a considerable size. After the close of the spawning season the adult Crabs are not seen 
in abundance about the shore, but probably live in slight depths of water near at hand. Duririg 
the winter they are often taken out in Delaware Bay by the oyster dredgers. They are very 
much less abundant now than formerly, on account of so many having been caught from year to 
year for use as a fertilizer. It would appear as though a few years more of indiscriminate capture 
would result in their being entirely exterminated from the region. The men catch them mainly 
in their hands, as they come upon the beaches, but they are also captured in pounds and weirs. 

The King Crab is rarely used as food for man, but is often fed to swine and poultry, and, 
after drying, is extensively employed as a fertilizer. It also serves as bait for eels and some 
species of fish. This species of Crab has been introduced on the west coast of the United States, 
the young, it is supi^osed, having been carried over mingled with the spat of the eastern oyster, 
wliich has been largely transplanted into the shallow waters of San Francisco Bay. It has also 
been introduced on the European coast. 



PLATE 260. 




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PLATE 269. 





Fia. ' 





Fig. 1. The Fiddler Crab, Gilasiniiis pugilalor, Liitriillf; iiialp, slightly enlarged. 

Fig. 2. The Oyster Crab, I'intiotheivs ostreiim, Say; male, enlarged four diameters. 

Fl(i. :i. The Mud Crab, Panopeiis depressus, Smith ; male, uatmal size. 

Figs. 4, ;">. The Spider Crabs. Fig. 4, Libinia emarginaia, Leach; male. Fig. fi, T.ihhiia ijiihiu, Edwards; male 

three-fourths natural size of small speeimens. 
Fig. I'l. 'I'he Sand Bug or Rait Bug, Hippa lalpuidii, S.iy : enlarged about two diameters. 
Fig. 7. Thi^ Hi'rmit Crab, EiijHi<jiin(S iM'nihiirtbiH, llramlt; .about two-thirds natural size. 
Druwiii-iH Ijy .J. H. KiinTtoii. 



Both 



PLATE 270. 




THE SPINY LOBSTER, OR ROCK LOBSTER. (Somewhat smaller than 

Panulirus interruptus, Randall, (p. 7S(i. I 
IJn.Wm- \..v 11. L. T,„l,l, IV,,,,, .,|„.n„„-n nl,tuin..l "n tlu- o.ast „r Calif... ni:t. 



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THE AMERICAN LOBSTER. (Male, much below natural size. 

Homarus amencanus Edwards. (1..TS1.) 
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THE RIVER CRAYFISH. (One and one-half times natural size.) 

Cambarus affinis, Erichson. (p. ,sll'. i 
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PLATE 274. 




THE MANTIS SHRIMP. (Natural size.) 

Squilla empusa, Say. {p. 823.) 
DraMiu"l)V H. L. Tuilil. riuni \ii. ::7.V.', 1', S. X;iIioii.il Muaeinn. 'n'noirs Hull, ilMss., \'iii:il N. Enwarda, 



PLATE 275. 



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Fig. 7. 




Fig. 1. The Common 8 limji, Ciangon vuhjaiis, Fabr. ; male, natural size. 

Fig. 2. The Common Pi-,iwn, Palwmonetes vulgaris, Stimpson ; male, enlarged one and one-half diameters. 
Fig. 3. The Deep-water Prawn, I'aiidahis Montcu/iii, Leaeli ; slightly smaller than n.itiiral size. 
Fl<;. 4. The Beach-Flea, Onhentia uijiliK, Smith ; male, enlarged tive diameters. 
Fl(i. .'>. The Send, Gammarus locusta, fionld; male, enlarged two diameters. 
Fl(i. H. The Boring Am]ihiiio<l, Chelura lerehrans, Phillipi; enlaiged about fourteen diameters. 
Fig. 7. Tin- Griblde, Limimria liitnoriiin, White; enlarged ten diameters. 
Fig. S. Till' Salve Bug, .liflfi psora, Kn'iyer; young specimen, enlarged three diameters. 
Fig. 9. The Horse-shoe Crab, LiiiKilits Poliiii]icmus, Latreille; much smaller than natural size. 
Dniwiu^s by J. IT. Emeitou, S. I. Siuilli, ami O. Harger. 



/ 



PLATE CXXI. 




THE KING (or HORSE-SHOE) CRAB. (Limulus polyphemus.) 



Fniir-littli.s iiutuiul si/.t*. 



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